Jehovah's Witnesses News

For Immediate Release
September 2, 2010

MOSCOW—On September 7, 2010, the Russian Federation Supreme Court will hear the interlocutory appeal filed by the Wachtturm Bibel- und Traktat-Gesellschaft der Zeugen Jehovas, against the September 11, 2009, decision of the Rostov Regional Court. The Rostov court’s decision wrongly labelled 34 Christian publications published by Wachtturm as extremist. At the time, the Rostov court did not even notify Wachtturm of the hearing and considered the case in the absence of its representatives. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 1%

For Immediate Release
August 5, 2010

Jehovah’s Witnesses submit the Gorno-Altaysk case

STRASBOURG—Having exhausted all domestic options within Russia and seeing that the existing legislation has only opened the way to increased intolerance, discrimination, and acts of violence, Jehovah’s Witnesses are forced to pursue justice elsewhere. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 4%

For Immediate Release
July 23, 2010

MOSCOW—The judgment of the Supreme Court of the Altay Republic that declared 18 Christian publications “extremist” was appealed to the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on July 13, 2010. The Local Religious Organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Gorno-Altaysk previously filed a supervisory appeal with the Supreme Court of the Republic of Altay, but the Court refused to consider it. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 6%

By Geraldine Fagan, Forum 18 News Service

Both the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Armenian-rite Catholic parish in Moscow have recently won legal victories in defence of their right to exist, Forum 18 News Service notes. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg rejected allegations that the Jehovah’s Witnesses destroy families and infringe the rights and freedoms of citizens and which were used to attempt to ban their community in Moscow. The ECtHR also found that the excessive length of court proceedings against the community violated the right to a fair trial. However the Jehovah’s Witnesses have submitted another complaint to the ECtHR, this time against a Supreme Court ruling outlawing 34 Jehovah’s Witness titles as extremist and dissolving their community in Taganrog. This paved the way for the current nationwide wave of raids, detentions, literature seizures and other violations of freedom of religion or belief against Jehovah’s Witnesses. Separately, Armenian-rite Catholics won a case in Moscow against a city decision not to register their parish. The city Justice Department has appealed in Moscow against the judgment, but no date has yet been set for the appeal hearing. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 6%

For Immediate Release
June 10, 2010

STRASBOURG—On Thursday, June 10, 2010, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) moved further to protect religious freedom in Russia. The seven judges were unanimous in declaring the liquidation and ban on the activities of the Moscow Community of Jehovah’s Witnesses as unlawful and in violation of the fundamental human rights of freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

In rejecting all the government’s allegations, the judges emphasized that today’s ruling is binding upon Russia and that Russia should take steps to “put an end to the violation found by the Court and to redress so far as possible the effects.” Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 12%

For Immediate Release
June 1, 2010

Domestic options exhausted in Russia;
Jehovah’s Witnesses appeal to the European Court of Human Rights

STRASBOURG—Where a vibrant community of Christians once worshipped, now stands a vacant building, sealed by Russian authorities whose application of the law to counteract extremist activity violates the rights of Jehovah’s Witnesses to worship freely.

On December 8, 2009, the Russian Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of the Local Religious Organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the western city of Taganrog, near the Ukraine border, effectively liquidating the activity of that congregation. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 8%

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%