OREANDA-NEWS Russia does not engage in repression on religious grounds, all violators of the law receive well-deserved punishment, the Foreign Ministry rejects such a distortion of reality, said Gennady Askaldovich, special representative of the Russian Foreign Minister for cooperation in ensuring the right to freedom of religion, Ambassador-at-large.

He noted that Russia, in the annual report of the US Commission on Religious Freedom in the world, is accused of arbitrary persecution of Crimean Tatar activists, representatives of the extremist organization Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews and others.

"We reject such insinuations and distortion of reality. Russia does not engage in repression on religious grounds, all violators of the law receive well-deserved punishment for their actions," Askoldovich said, his comment is provided on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.