Evidence has emerged over the last two weeks of a coordinated, Soviet style campaign against Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. Charges of extremism have been filed against two congregations, FSB and other officials have interfered with over 30 Jehovah's Witnesses congresses this summer, and a series of articles demonizing Jehovah's Witnesses have appeared in provinical newspapers throughout the country, in some cases on the same day. Many of these articles focus on an alleged kidnapping by Jehovah's Witnesses of a young man supposedly seeking sanctuary inside a Russian Orthodox church in Elista.

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The Coalition Against Hate received recognition as UCSJ leaders briefed the congressional joint Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the Helsinki Commission) both on the coalition, the current status of hate crimes in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, and the importance of the impunity of hate crimes to assessing rule of law and to the conduct of foreign policy.

UN racism rapporteur Doudou Diene, another witness, concluded, "There is an unmistakable resurgence in racist violence conducted, primarily, but not exclusively, by neo-Nazi groups."

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