A Russian court has ruled that the Moscow branch of the Church of Scientology should be dissolved.
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A court in Russian Federation has banned Moscow’s Church of Scientology, saying that it does not comply with federal laws on freedom of religion.
The organization’s lawyers said the Justice Ministry gave no serious reasons which “could influence the liquidation”.
That came after the group tried to register Scientology as a trademark owned by the US Religious Technology Center. A commission will need to be hired from the church to oversee the liquidation of assets within the next six months.
“When decisions like this are handed down, actually everyone loses, and this decision affects not only the Church of Scientology of Moscow”.
The Church of Scientology were quick to condemn the court’s decions.
Russia’s justice ministry has always been pushing to prohibit the organisation, which a few countries treat as a legitimate faith but others consider to be a cult.
The organisation plans to appeal, reports said.
In August, Moscow investigators said they had opened a criminal investigation after finding hidden microphones and cameras on the church’s premises in Moscow.
In 2011 the court ordered that all books by the founder of the Church of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard be purged.
Interfax quoted representatives of the church saying that its closure violated the rights of “tens of thousands of believers”.
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The Church of Scientology has created a vast amount of controversy since it’s beginning in the 1950s, despite having many high-profile members such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta.
