DOCUMENT: APPEAL OF EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
In connection with the criminal case against Jehovah's Witnesses in Taganrog
For several years now, Russian authorities have been wrongly applying the law "On combating extremist activity" for restricting the peaceful activity of Jehovah's Witnesses. This is especially evident in the example of the trial of sixteen Jehovah's Witnesses in Taganrog (Rostov province). Since 2011,the authorities have been subjecting these Witnesses to criminal prosecution merely because of their faith. The prosecutor is demanding sentencing four of the elders of the congregation to six years of prison for organizing religious meetings. All sixteen defendants are threatened with enormous fines for attending these meetings. The decision of the court is expected by the end of October. [Sentencing has been postponed into November 2015.]
The prosecutor accused the believers of extremist activity, specifically of inflaming hatred. But what are the facts? The Witnesses are not accused of calling for violence or for hatred. They wound up in court only because they met for general discussion of the Bible, as Jehovah's Witnesses do throughout the world. They are not extremists!
The criminal case in Taganrog is a scenario of increasing popularity that authorities are using in order to restrict freedom of religious confession in Russia. Courts have issued decisions for confiscation of houses of worship of Jehovah's Witnesses in Taganrog, Samara, and Abinsk, as well as for the liquidation of their legal entity status in these regions. Other similar cases are at the stage of consideration. Russian customs authorities have blocked the import into the country of all Jehovah's Witnesses' religious literature, including even the Bible. Russia is the only country in the world that bans jw.org, the official international website of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Russia is now at the crossroad in the question of freedom of religious confession. Will Russian citizens be deprived of their freedom simply because they peacefully profess their faith? The Council of Europe and the United Nations Committee for Human Rights have called Russia to cease misuse of the law on extremism with respect to peaceful religious associations, and they mentioned the Jehovah's Witnesses separately. Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia are accustomed to follow the biblical commandment of First Timothy 2.1-2: to live a quiet and peaceful life in total obedience to God, as they are trying to do. Jehovah's Witnesses of the whole world beseech the Taganrog court to cancel all charges against these Witnesses. We urge Russia to adhere to its international agreements, to adhere to justice, and to defend the standards of law and freedom enshrined in the constitution.
Gaius Glokkentin,
European Association of Christian Jehovah's Witnesses
3 November 2015
(tr. by PDS, posted 4 November 2015)
Russian original posted on Portal-credo.ru site, 4 November 2015
Background article:
Summaries
of testimony of Jehovah's Witnesses on trial in Taganrog
August 22, 2015
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