On December 2, 2021, the Pervomayskiy District Court in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, ruled to dismiss the Prosecutor General’s claim to declare 13 publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses extremist. The Prosecutor General had attempted to rush the proceedings and gave our brothers little notice of the case. Yet, the defense lawyers were able to file comprehensive written objections submitted by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania and the Religious Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses of the Kyrgyz Republic. The judge referred to these objections when deciding that the case did not meet the required court procedure and thus had to be dismissed. The prosecutor has ten days to appeal today’s ruling.

On Thursday, December 2, 2021, the Pervomayskiy District Court in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, will rule on whether 13 of our publications should be declared extremist. The case documentation reveals that the plan is to follow Russia’s model and ban more than just literature. For example, a letter from Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security to the Prosecutor General directs that “a prohibition of this religious organization’s materials be initiated and a possible ban on its activity in the Kyrgyz Republic be considered.”