Authorities in the southwestern Siberian city of Omsk have opened a criminal investigation against the Jehovah's Witnesses for circulating extremist materials.
According to investigators, from October 2009 to May 2010 activists of the Jehovah's Witnesses circulated books and pamphlets which are listed as banned and considered extremist materials in Russia.
Prosecutors in the Omsk Region revealed on Friday that the decision to open a criminal case against members of the sect for inspiring hatred or enmity was legal.
An investigation is ongoing and a search for those involved in the circulation of the extremist materials is underway.
The Jehovah's Witnesses, which has some seven million followers worldwide and 300,000 in Russia, have already been banned in a number of former Soviet republics.
The group, known in the West for persistent door-to-door evangelism, was formed in the 19th century in the United States. The group believes that Judgement Day will soon be upon the world.
NOVOSIBIRSK, June 4 (RIA Novosti)
