ECHR looks into Russia’s treatment of Jehovah’s Witnesses

by emeth 3 Replies latest jw friends

  • emeth
    emeth

    MOSCOW, March 25 (RAPSI) - The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) communicated a vast collection of complaints this month to Russia in connection with the treatment of Jehovah’s Witnesses throughout the country.

    Russia and the applicants were asked earlier this month to consider a plethora of questions related to treatment of Jehovah’s Witnesses and their congregations in light of the European Convention on Human Rights’ (Convention) guarantees of religious freedom and free expression, as well as its prohibition of discrimination.

    According to court documents, in 2007, a Russian Deputy Prosecutor General notified the country’s prosecutors’ offices that the Jehovah’s Witnesses and other foreign religious and charitable organizations may have constituted a public threat.

    The letter stated: “There are various branches of foreign religious and charitable organizations within the territory of Russia whose activities do not formally violate the provisions of Russian legislation but quite often promote the growth of tension in society.”

    The letter grouped Jehovah’s Witnesses with the Unification Church, the Church of Scientology, “various eastern faiths,” and Satanism, referring to them collectively as “branches that frequently carry out activities that damage the moral, mental, and physical health of their members.”

    Prosecutors throughout the country were instructed to look into the threat that extremist material was being produced or disseminated in violation or Russia’s mass communications law.

    According to the complaint, the present collection of cases revolves around ten claims, many centering on Jehovah’s Witness literature:

    1. The liquidation of a local Jehovah’s Witness organization in Taganrog, Russia, along with the confiscation of its property and a ban on 34 of its publications;
    2. Seven other instances of the banning of religious publications in various Russian regions;
    3. The revocation of a permit to distribute religious magazines;
    4. A series of administrative proceedings launched against nine individuals in eight regions over the distribution of extremist literature;
    5. Five cases where administrative proceedings were launched over the distribution of unregistered mass media;
    6. Thirteen cases where administrative proceedings were launched for conducting religious events;
    7. Three searches carried out in private residences, and the seizure of religious literature;
    8. Five cases where searches were conducted in places of worship, with the disruption of religious services;
    9. The seizure of a shipment of religious literature;
    10. And the detainment of a Jehovah’s Witness for preaching.

    The complaint asserts that the Taganrog local religious organization (LRO) was liquidated after a court held that it was an extremist organization, due in part to the fact that one of its founding members succumbed to wounds she received in a motor vehicle accident, after refusing to accept blood transfusions.

    According to the website of the international Jehovah’s Witnesses religious organization, adherents do not categorically reject all forms of medical treatment. The organization does, however, reject certain specific treatments, including blood transfusions. As explained by the website: “Some treatments conflict with Bible principles… and we reject these. For example, we don’t accept blood transfusions because the Bible forbids taking in blood to sustain the body. (Acts 15:20) Likewise, the Bible prohibits health treatments or procedures that include occult practices.—Galatians 5:19-21.”

    The claims present a number of issues under Russian domestic law, including its laws against extremism, the Criminal Code’s provisions against the incitement of hatred or enmity and against associations that infringe upon the rights of citizens.

    Parties to the case have been instructed to answer a series of questions pertaining to the treatment of Russia’s Jehovah’s Witnesses under international law.
    The ECHR has considered three applications filed against Russia by Jehovah’s Witnesses in the past, finding in each case that there had been violations of the Convention.

    http://rapsinews.com/news/20140325/271010309.html

  • WTWizard
    WTWizard

    All they have to do is ban any religion that is structured like communism or that is designed to prepare the public to be enslaved. No questions asked. Define any religion that prepares people to be enslaved, regardless of which end of the enslavement the religion supports, as a cult and ban it. Then expose it to the public, so those scumbags pushing such cults will have a miserable time trying to get people to support them. And this goes for foreign based religions--effectively banning missionary work that spreads communism to other countries.

    Yes, the Moonies, Scientologists, and jokehovians do support communism. Eastern religions sometimes support communism--it depends on how much they have been infested with Christi-SCAM-ity or Islam. As for Satanism, I have seen plenty of cults within Satanism that support or require animal abuse, drug use, and abusive sorcery as part of their rituals. The same scum that start right hand cults simply take this kind of abuse and slap a label of Satanism on it, starting left-hand cults. In true Satanism, there is no place for abusive sorcery or animal abuse within rituals, and drug use is viewed as damaging your brain and your liver, and inviting angels to tamper with your soul in a vulnerable state. And there is no extensive self-mutilation required in true Satanism--yes, cults sometimes file their teeth and do other mutilation of this or worse magnitude. As such misrepresent true Satanism, promote abuse of animals, and are usually mixed with some influence from Christi-SCAM-ity, they should be exposed as lies.

    Specifically with the jokehovians (which, though they claim to be pure xian, are half Jewish), they should be banned. Even based on when I was in, that foul religion blatantly promotes communism. They talk about a great equalizing, where no one has "too much" (communism). They want you to go "the extra mile"--communism. They promote and accept slavery--communism. They are homophobic and excessively regulate sex--communism. They have escalating quotas once you do the baseline--communism. They expect you to violate valid morals and principles to further their interests-- communism. They put their interests ahead of your having a life, or even taking care of yourself, health or money wise--communism. And, with the 2014 Grand Boasting Session being a damnation working, they are taking it even farther. I suspect they are going to start forcing everyone to participate in their dead works, as well as enforcing rules even worse to make themselves look worse than North Korea within the next few years.

    And, not just Russia. Let them use baptism as a "signed, legally binding contract" (something any corrupt judge could easily grant them), and the religion could be a threat everywhere. You were baptized, even if at age 6 and forced by parents, you signed that contract "and you shouldn't have signed it if you weren't sure of the terms" will say the judge. Court orders, lawsuits, criminal contempt of court, and even court ordered medication such as Haldol, Xanax, Prozac, Paxil, and Seroquel could easily follow. States need to act, BEFORE DECEMBER 23, 2014 to get this foul religion BANNED before they can pull this off. Yes, it may smack of a crackdown. But sometimes you need to lose a little freedom for a few to protect those few from destroying all freedom for everyone.

  • emeth
    emeth

    @WTWIZARD are you sane?

  • konceptual99
    konceptual99

    Even were Russia, or any other state, ban the Witnesses it would have little effect on those in. The org carries on. It does not protect people, just reinforces the persecution complex.

    In places like Russia it also increases the amount of physcial persection individuals recieve which cannot be condoned, especially when the issues are with the leadership far away.

    It is far better for people to come to understand TTATT through open and public means. I am not suggesting that the WTS should not be open to scrutiny or that it is not hypocritical in it's application of freedom of speech and religion, just that using draconian means to try and snuff the Witnesses out has never worked and it's actually the exposure of the org in the open internet along with apathy where there is little physical persecution that does more to undermine the organisation in the long run.

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