Russia confiscates 123 Jehovah’s Witnesses real estate assets

A Moscow court has ordered the seizure of 123 real estate assets belonging to Jehovah’s Witnesses and transferred them to the Russian state.

According to Peoples Gazette, the assets comprise 63 residential and commercial buildings covering more than 11,000 square metres and 60 plots of land spanning 5.6 hectares.

The properties are owned by the religious movement’s Swedish branch.

Russia banned Jehovah’s Witnesses as an “extremist organisation” in 2017. The European Court of Human Rights ruled the ban unlawful in 2022, while several members have since been jailed for alleged extremist activities.