Moscow makes religious gesture

by JAVA 5 Replies latest social current

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  JAVA

  Dayton Daily News, Saturday, February 24, 2001, p. 10A
  "World Headlines" from wire reports:

  "MOSCOW -- A Moscow court on Friday threw out a prosecutor's effort to ban Jehovah's Witnesses in the capital, a decision hailed as a strong move for religious tolerance.

  Applause and tears broke out amoung the crowd of about 50 people listening to the reading of the decision, which also called for the prosecutor's office to pay $650 to experts called in the case.

  'We are crying tears of happiness,' said a Jehovah's Witnesses member who did not give her name. 'I lived through the period of when we were banned . . . I did not want to repeat it.'"

  --END OF ARTICLE--

  I wonder if the above crying JW will cry tears of joy when the Watchtower lifts its ban on material written by former Witnesses?

  ---JAVA, counting time at the Coffee Shop
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  Mata4486

  Just wanted to say how glad i am that our sisters and brothers are able to further their spiritual work.
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  JAVA

  Mata4486,

  Welcome to the db. I believe in religious freedom too; freedom of open discussion, freedom to agree or disagree, all of this without holding JW family and friends hostage. It's a shame some sects are more interested in control, intimidation, and profits instead of following the example Jesus set. That being said, I'm glad the Witnesses are allowed to practice door-to-door proselytizing in Moscow. However, I think it's fair letting others know what they're in for.

  ---JAVA, counting time at the Coffee Shop
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  twvsnt

  Java
  I agree, the JW don't show you the 'fine print' much less tell you!!
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  JAVA

  twvsnt,

  So true; JWs don't want to "stumble" the new ones, do they? Why bother the new ones with details of shunning? They'll learn all about it after dropping all of their so-called worldly friends, and bringing members of their family into "the Truth." If they question anything printed in The Watchtower, they'll learn another aspect about "the Truth" and brotherly love soon enough. Why annoy them with the "fine print" when they're new and trusting? Good point, twvsnt!

  ---JAVA, counting time at the Coffee Shop

  Edited by - JAVA on 27 February 2001 17:57:35
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  Drue

  For Immediate Release
  May 31, 2001

  Moscow judges order retrial

  MOSCOW, RUSSIA—On Wednesday, May 30, it took less than three hours for three judges in the Moscow City Court to order a retrial in a protracted case that threatens to ban the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow. Contrary to some reports, this decision does not constitute a ban on Jehovah's Witnesses.

  All charges filed by the Moscow Prosecutor's Office against Jehovah's Witnesses were dismissed on February 23, 2001, by Judge Yelena Prokhorycheva because of a lack of evidence in a trial that had lasted two years. Attempts to ban the religion in Moscow have been in progress since 1995. The same charges, brought by the same people, have been dismissed on five occasions. Yet, the Golovinsky District Court is being ordered to hear the case once again. John Burns, human rights lawyer for the defense, described the decision of the appeal judges as "an example of extreme judicial harassment against a religious minority." He added: "Since there exists no evidence to substantiate the charges, the whole process is entrenched in an endless cycle of retrials."

  Galina Krylova, lawyer for the defense, expressed surprise at the decision. However, she said, "The track record of Moscow courts has been to consistently delay hearings on Jehovah's Witnesses' re-registration applications under the 1997 law on religious freedom. Today's judgment is just another episode in the stalling process."

  The appeal judges promised a written judgment in one month. Burns warned: "We will evaluate their reasons and determine whether there is a case to answer in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg." Vladimir Tumanov, the first Russian judge of the European Court of Human Rights, has gone on record as reminding the Russian judiciary that the Strasbourg court has passed a number of rulings protecting Jehovah's Witnesses, as reported by the Kommersant-Daily on March 15, 2001.

  The Russian newspaper, Nazavisimaya Gazeta, January 31, 2001, said: "Jehovah's Witnesses occupy fourth place among Russian religions." There are an estimated 280,000 Jehovah's Witnesses and associates in Russia. More than 10,000 of those Witnesses live in Moscow.

  Contacts: Russian-speaking, Jaroslav Sivulskii, Mobile Telephone: + (7) 8 902 682 8197
  English-speaking, Paul Gillies, Mobile Telephone: + 44 7775 833880

  http://www.jw-media.org/releases/default.htm?content=010531b.htm