Sentence in Priest Beating: Jehovah’s Witness member gets six months

by sizemik 10 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  sizemik

  Sentence in Priest Beating: Jehovah’s Witness member gets six months

  

  Photo: epress.am

  Ter Yesayi Artenyan

  By GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN
  ArmeniaNow intern A Jehovah’s Witnesses member, who a few months ago attacked the Holy Trinity Church priest and threatened him, has been sentenced to six months imprisonment based on the priest’s claim.
  
  On May 15, Holy Trinity Church priest Ter Yesayi Artenyan asked two young people preaching near his church in Yerevan to leave the territory but in response they attacked him, hurled obscenities and threats “to bite his head off”.
  
  A criminal case had been instituted in connection with the incident on the hallmarks of “beating and threats.
  
  Ter Yesayi Artenyan told ArmeniaNow that the duration of the imprisonment does not matter to him; however, he believes that it is necessary to be tougher with “sectarians”.
  
  “My struggle is against sectarian organizations and not their members, and even though I appreciate that [Andranik] Makvetsyan has been found guilty, I believe that he was simply a victim, a victim of Jehovah’s Witnesses,” Ter Yesayi Artenyan says.
  
  Tigran Harutyunyan, Spokesman of Jehovah’s Witnesses, told ArmeniaNow that Makvetsyan’s attorneys are planning to appeal the verdict.
  
  “Overall the trial was quite controversial. Makvetsyan had turned to the police, too, because Artenyan drove them away for a public area using faulty language, however, the police did not proceed with the complaint. I believe it was a unilateral case and must be appealed,” Harutyunyan says. .........................................................................

  Some interesting questions raised here . . . Also some interesting comments on the article . . . http://armenianow.com/social/human_rights/33723/jehovah_witness_imprisonment_priest_claim
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  irondork

  Kinda like drug dealers killing drug dealers.

  Oh, look! There's a sale at Macy's!
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  NewChapter

  It's kind of an odd article and leaves me with lot's of questions. I think the priest is definitely motivated by a dislike for the religion. Plus it said they were sentenced "on the priests's claim", and yet there was a counterclaim. It doesn't sound like authorities looked into it and just went with the priest.

  While I know it is completely possible for a JW to pummell a priest, because they are human, and humans do those things, but this article really makes me wonder.

  And if they DIDN'T hit that priest, or even if they have plausible deniability, then this is PERSECUTION and they love nothing better than persecution! They will be written up in the WT, they will have parts on meetings, they will be local celebrities. UGH

  NC
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  InquiryMan

  In neighbouring Georgia, there has been numerous reports of priests attacking witnesses. Most people know that JWs refrain from non-violence, esp while in iministry... The whole article seems rather dubious to me...
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  BluesBrother

  "six months imprisonment based on the priest’s claim."

  Hmm.. Based on the history of antipathy between Church and J W's in that part of the world, I have to view this verdict with some suspicion . It would not be the first case of a priest in the Caucasus framing mischief for them...
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  ziddina

  "Most people know that JWs refrain from non-violence..." InquiryMan

  Yes, especially the wives of JWs who are advised to remain with a battering spouse, the children of JWs, many of whom are beaten, battered and bullied into the cult, and the silenced victims of rapists within the congregation, boys, girls, and women...

  Not to mention the overarching example set for them by their Bronze-Age Middle-Eastern "god", who declares proudly his intent to kill almost everyone at "Armageddon"...
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  steve2

  Hmmmmmm. I suspect the hapless witness is himself the victim of a trumped up charge.

  Perhaps I am biased: As a teenager witnessing alone door to door, I was set upon by some local children known to me at the local high school. I did my best to defend myself against their verbal abuse and repeated pushing and shoving. One of them tried to run off with my witnessing bag; I pushed him away. He fell over and (loudly claimed) I caused him to hit his head. The others back up his story claiming I had tried to preach to them and when they walked away I had become stroppy. I was left pretty dazed and frightened and, with the exception of the local witnesses, no one believed me. JWs were very disliked so my version of what happened didn't stand a chance. The police spoke to my JW parents and issued a warning. The one good outcome was my parents stopped my siblings and I door knocking by ourselves.
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  cyberjesus

  So if you hit a Catholic priest ......

  1) Is that a public reproof offense?

  2) Do you get a promotion when you get out of jail or do you get DFd?

  If you are sent to jail because of that...is that considered persecution? sorta like Ruffeford did?
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  cyberjesus

  however that priest is kinnda ugly.
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  2tone

  Funny, how dubs always think that another dub is automatically a great person just because there a dub. I guess the excuse is that they were really never a witness, lol.