Jehovah's Witnesses News

For Immediate Release
August 2, 2010

BAKU, Azerbaijan—Although ready and willing to perform alternative civilian service that is not under military control, 22-year-old Farid Mammadov was convicted of evasion of military service by the Nisami District Court. On July 16, 2010, the Court sentenced Mammadov to nine months’ imprisonment under Article 321.1 of the Criminal Code, even though he had the lawful ground to refuse on account of his conscientious objection to bearing weapons and joining the military. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 4%

For Immediate Release
June 21, 2010

GOMEL, Belarus—Dmitri Smyk wanted to exercise his constitutional right to choose civilian service instead of military service. While this young citizen of Belarus had previously been found guilty of having broken the law and was heavily fined, the Court of Tsentralniy District of Gomel considered the case at length and on May 31, 2010, found him innocent. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 7%

Dzmitry Smyk after his acquittal

The central court in the Belarusian city of Homel has acquitted a Jehovah’s Witness who had been charged with avoiding mandatory military service, RFE/RL’s Belarus Service reports.

Dzmitry Smyk said that his belief did not allow him to bear arms. Judge Alena Tsalkova ruled that “Smyk’s actions do not constitute a crime.”

Smyk told RFE/RL after he left the courtroom a free man that he felt happy that justice had prevailed. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 5%

Turkmen president issued an amnesty this month, but did include those who refuse compulsory military service on grounds of conscientious objection, like Jehovah’s Witnesses. The latter got two years of hard labour and had their Bible seized.

Ashgabat (AsiaNews/F18) – Refusing to perform compulsory military service on grounds of conscientious objection is so serious a crime in Turkmenistan that offenders do not deserve amnesty. Currently, five Jehovah’s Witnesses are languishing in jail and this for several months, because of their refusal to wear a uniform—four of them have even earned a month of solitary confinement. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 5%

By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service

Four of Turkmenistan’s five imprisoned Jehovah’s Witness conscientious objectors were twice selected for more punishment in late 2009, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. The four prisoners of conscience were first confined in their labour camp’s punishment cells for three days, and later each given one month in the camp’s isolation punishment cells. It is suspected that these punishments were imposed to exclude them from a prisoner amnesty this month (May), declared by President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov. None of the five prisoners of conscience – the only known people currently jailed for exercising their freedom of religion or belief – was included in the amnesty, and nor were the two other Jehovah’s Witness conscientious objectors serving suspended sentences. Also, changes to Turkmenistan’s Criminal Code approved this month retained the country’s criminalisation of conscientious objection to compulsory military service. Officials of the state’s National Institute for Democracy and Human Rights and Gengeshi (Committee) for Religious Affairs have refused to discuss this with Forum 18. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 3%

For Immediate Release
May 20, 2010

YEREVAN, Armenia—On May 10, 2010, a panel of five judges of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights accepted Mr. Vahan Bayatyan’s request to have his case reviewed.

On October 27, 2009, a panel of seven judges of the European Court ruled that freedom of conscience as defined in Article 9 of the European Convention did not protect the rights of conscientious objectors. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 9%

By Mushfig Bayram, Forum 18 News Service

Two Protestant Christians in southern Uzbekistan have been given 15 day jail terms, local sources have told Forum 18 News Service. Azamat Rajapov and Abdusattor Kurbonov were apparently sentenced for unregistered religious activity and began their jail terms on 23 April. No notice was given of the trial and the first the prisoners’ families and friends knew was a brief telephone call from one informing them the two were in jail for 15 days. The cases mark a resumption of the policy of using 5 to 15-day jail sentences against selected Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief. In a separate case the head of the police in Almalyk, near the capital Tashkent, has continued sending letters threatening religious believes with criminal charges. In incidents unrelated to these two cases, Forum 18 continues to be made aware of women (and sometimes men) detained for their religious activity being targeted by male officials with overt or implied threats of sexual violence. Forum 18 notes that it is highly unusual for victims to want to document their experiences publicly. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 4%

For Immediate Release
April 22, 2010

Council of state upholds right of conscientious objection for reservist in Greece

ATHENS—The plenary session of the Council of State found that Evangelos Delis, who served in the Greek army in 1992 but who has since converted to being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, had the right to object to serving as a reservist in the military. When called up for reserve training, Delis requested that he be treated as a conscientious objector and, as such, be assigned to alternative civilian service. This request was denied by the authorities, who decided that a reservist did not have the right to make such a claim. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 12%