A Moscow regional court has upheld a lower court decision declaring books on Scientology to be extremist literature and banning publication or distribution of books from Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.



Court spokeswoman Anna Tyurina said that during the course of the hearing it was proven to the court's satisfaction that Scientology was aimed at forming isolated groups, prepared to engage in extremist activities in a battle with the rest of the world.



In June, Moscow's Shchelkovsky Court recognized several of Hubbard's books as extremist.



Members of the group appealed the decision.



The March 20 ruling by the regional court means Hubbard's literature and material on Scientology is officially on the list of banned extremist material in Russia.



With ITAR-TASS and Interfax reporting