Russia bans Jehovah's Witnesses as 'extremist' group

A Russian Court has declared Jehovah's Witnesses as an "extremist" organisation and banned them from the country, according to Russian media reports.

The Supreme Court ordered the religious group to suspend their activities at their main St Petersburg site immediately and seized its property, reports Sputnik news organisation.

It came hours after the justice ministry applied for an order to shut down the group's national headquarters near St Petersburg, news groups said.

Russian authorities have put several Jehovah's Witness publications on a list of banned extremist literature.

Prosecutors have long cast it as an organisation that destroys families, fosters hatred and threatens lives, a description the organisation says is false.