Confiscation of religious property in Russia begins

TAGANROG, Russia—On March 1, 2010, law enforcement officers closed down and sealed the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the city of Taganrog, Rostov Region.

Confiscation of the building was one of the prosecutor’s demands in the judicial proceedings on the liquidation of the Taganrog Local Religious Organization of Jehovah's Witnesses. The building was built in 2006 by local Jehovah’s Witnesses, who financed its construction and use with their own voluntary contributions. Since then it has served as a center for Bible study and religious services, which were free and open to the public.