TELEVISION IS READY TO COVER PICKET BY TWO GIRLS RATHER THAN THE VIOLATION OF RIGHTS OF MORE THAN 170,000 JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES LIVING IN RUSSIA
jw.ru/blogspot.com, 26 August 2016
In Astrakhan, two girls, appearing according to news media reports as "Young Guard activists," conducted a picket against Jehovah's Witnesses.
It is alarming that this demonstration is supported by representatives of the government and the Rossiia 1 television channel. Recently the rights of more than 170,000 believers living on the territory of Russia are continually being violated.
But unfortunately not a single television channel covers these law violations. After all, there is quite sufficient material with pertinent proofs. One need only visit the official information website of the Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, jw-russia.org, on which violations of the rights of believers are continually reported. Any case is worthy of coverage in news media.
However the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia is either a forbidden topic or not relevant. One gets the impression that the violation of the rights of Jehovah's Witnesses has become something ordinary and normal. Since besides rights advocates and several specialists in the areas of law and religious studies, news media almost never cover persecution of believers of this confession. Or if they do cover it, then Jehovah's Witnesses are portrayed almost always as practically criminals.
But for the sake of justice, it should be noted that at the present time not a single Jehovah's Witness in Russia is in a place of incarceration for any criminal act. This once again proves that they are law-abiding citizens, who are being illegally persecuted in various regions of the country without any basis.
The picket by the two girls and its coverage in news media is another evidence of the news media's lack of interest in giving people honest information about Jehovah's Witnesses and their activity. (tr. by PDS, posted 26 August 2016)
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