The non-profit organization behind the Jehovah's Witnesses in Kraainem, Belgium has been convicted of inciting discrimination and hatred or violence against former members who chose to leave the community. The court in Ghent has fined Jehovah's Witnesses EUR 12,000 but due to the indexation adjustment, the actual payout to the victim will be (at this point) 8 times higher.
The multiplier seems weird to us, for those familiar with US law, the EUR 12,000 is the statutory fine, taking into account the devaluation of currency, the court system sets an indexed multiplier for fines, currently at 8 - similar to how fines in the US were set in the 1800's at $100 would now be several thousands of dollars.
It is likely that the Jehovah's Witnesses will pursue this case to the European court.
According to the prosecutor, this case is therefore mainly about recognizing the malpractices within the community, not so much about sanctions: “In our opinion, this is a blatant violation of the discrimination law. I hope this can be a signal. This is an extensive, fundamental matter. They target a certain group and they isolate them socially and damage them psychologically. ”
The lawyers of Jehovah's Witnesses stated that the non-profit association is only a legal entity that is used by the community. How the members deal with their religion is not the responsibility of the association. Basically they are saying that the organization is not responsible for the way members treat each other after disfellowshipping, an argument which due to the documentation and harrowing stories submitted, the judge saw through.