Quote from: July 15, 2011 Watchtower Study Guide, left-side insert on page 6
Why a Russian Verdict Is Reviewed in France
On February 28, 1996, Russia signed the European Convention on Human Rights. (On May 5, 1998, Russia ratified the Convention.) By signing that treaty, Russia’s government declared that its subjects have
‘the right to freedom of religion and the right to practice their religion at home and in public and
to change their religion if they want to do so.’—Article 9.
‘the right to say and write in a responsible way what they think and to give information to others.’
—Article 10.
‘the right to take part in peaceful meetings.’—Article 11.
Individuals or organizations who are victims of violations of the treaty and who have exhausted all domestic legal avenues can bring their case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France (shown above). It is made up of 47 judges—a number equal to the number of countries that signed the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court’s judgments are binding. Countries that signed the treaty must comply with the judgments.
In the July 15, 2011 Watchtower Study Guide the WTBTS was celebrating its victory in the European Court of Human Rights over a ban in Moscow, Russia. What I thought was interesting was the wording of the European laws that the WTBTS was using to overturn the Moscow ban in the European courts. If a reasonable person reads the paragraph for Article 10 from an insert in the Watchtower Article (see above quote), wouldn’t a reasonable person think that “the right to say and write in a responsible way” does not grant a person the right to use Theocratic Warfare (i.e., lying) as is described in “Lying in Court and Religion: An Analysis of the Theocratic Warfare Doctrine of the Jehovah's Witnesses“. If new converts were told the entire truth and possible consequences of being baptised a JW before they started their Bible studies, would new converts choose to continue with their Bible studies?
I wonder if the WTBTS is prepared financially for a landslide of legal actions against them in European Courts based on people’s personal experiences of being lied to by elders and promoting lying in WTBTS literature, as well as, challenges to Article 9 about “right to freedom of religion”. Does anyone have written WTBTS literature that promotes the practice of Theocratic Warfare, or has personal experience of being exposed to this practice by representatives of the WTBTS in a European country? Does anyone know how to contact either the Northern Administrative Circuit of Moscow or Prosecutor Tatyana Kondratyeva to send information to them?
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
ABibleStudent on the JWN (and BibleStudent on the JWSF)
