Forum 18: RUSSIA: Justice Ministry seeks complete Jehovah's Witness ban

by OrphanCrow 14 Replies latest jw friends

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  OrphanCrow

  RUSSIA: Justice Ministry seeks complete Jehovah's Witness ban

  By Victoria Arnold, Forum 18

  With no public announcement, Russia's Justice Ministry lodged a suit at the Supreme Court today (15 March) to declare the Jehovah's Witness Administrative Centre "extremist", to liquidate it, and to ban its activity. If successful, this would ban all Jehovah's Witness activity across Russia.

  Russia's Justice Ministry has submitted a suit to the Supreme Court to declare the Administrative Centre of Jehovah's Witnesses an "extremist" organisation, order it liquidated, and ban its activity. If the Justice Ministry wins the administrative suit, Jehovah's Witness activity would be banned across Russia. The suit reached the Supreme Court today (15 March) and was included in the list of forthcoming cases on the Court website late in the afternoon Moscow time.
  
  If successful, this would be the first time a court has ruled a registered centralised religious organisation "extremist".
  
  The Justice Ministry made no public announcement that it had lodged the suit.
  
  The liquidation suit, which reached the Supreme Court on 15 March, was handed the same day to Judge Nikolai Romanenkov. "Once he has examined the case, the Judge will determine when the hearing will begin and whether it will be open or closed," a Court secretary told Forum 18 from Moscow on 15 March. "All the information will be posted on the court website."
  
  Should the suit succeed, the Administrative Centre's property would be forfeit to the state and all its activity would be prohibited. The local religious communities for which it is responsible would also be dissolved, and their members would be liable to criminal prosecution if they continued to meet for worship. This would end Jehovah's Witnesses' open public life in Russia.
  

  *Full article (lengthy) at link
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  WingCommander

  Good for Russia! They tell it like it is! JW's are parasitic leeches, who offer up absolutely NOTHING to society in the form of charity, help, or ease suffering. Instead, they are a burden on the system that eventually divides families. Totally subversive. Good for the Russia!
  
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  stuckinarut2

  Any updates?

  By the way, it seems rather ironic that a "dictatorial high control power" is seeking to outlaw another high control group....
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  Listener

  Here's a JW Youtube about a two day Russian Convention that took place after the ban was imposed. They had over 2,400 in attendance and about 41 were baptized - in the local water hole. Those shown getting baptized looked mostly young or old.
  
  The Convention was held under the watchful eye of the Authorities situated in a white van and It was located on a Brother's own property and in the open air.
  
  The irony of this is that it shows it is possible to hold these assemblies without the need for costly assembly halls.
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmNmukrU_Jk
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  Corney

  Safeguard Your Heart conventions took place in 2012, long before the ban. But already at that time the authorities unlawfully disrupted meetings and assemblies, forced owners not to rent premises to Witnesses, and often didn't allow congregations to build KHs. Therefore JWs had to hold conventions in the field or in the forest.
  After the Russian Supreme Kangaroo "Court" banned the organization, the Witnesses can only meet in private homes, and even for such meetings criminal cases were already opened, and at least tens of armed raids and searches were carried out throughout Russia. Bank accounts of accused persons are frozen, and they face large fines or prison terms of up to 8 (or even more) years. Many were fired from their jobs. These actions of authorities constitute gross human rights violations, and they cannot be justified or glorified.
  
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  DesirousOfChange

  Actually, I think JWs will prosper better under these adversities than in a free society. This fuels their persecution complex and gives them the evidence they need to convince themselves that Satan is trying to stop them from their True Worship (quoting Jesus words "they will persecute you also").

  I haven't heard of 41 baptisms at an assembly of that size in decades for the US.

  For this reason, I think JW/HQ/GB has often taken positions to encourage authorities to "attack" them (as long as it doesn't personally affect their own fat asses).
  
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  Listener

  Thanks for clarifying the timing of that convention Corney. Still, the point was, it's so cheap and easy to hold a large assembly. It's a lie when the organisation says it needs x amount of Kingdom Halls and Assembly Halls and then burdens the flock with the cost and labor.
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  Dmitry

  Did not open a new topic.

  As can be seen from the actions of the FSB, they decided to sentence the top JW. 2-3 are enough from each region of the country under the article "extremism".

  The rest of the mass (about 3,000 groups) to take account of the subsequent fines for relapse. And this is from 6000 to 16000 $!

  The police (special forces) have already begun to receive awards for participating in operations to eliminate JW groups.

  https://youtu.be/1Aob53cdaB0
  
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  zeb

  I feel such pity for the poor mug witnesses caught up in the mincer.

  Where is the gb? Like Rutherford before them when the war tore Europe apart sitting in safety while sniping away at Hitler and today they will be saying provocative things about the Russian govt..

  The gb could have repatriated the jw out of Europe and kept them safe from Hitler as today they could well afford to repatriate the Russian jw out and set them up in the US with the requisites for life.

  But I know in my heart the gb will do no such thing...
  
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  Dmitry

  I think that GB suffers from the suffering, torture and arrests of Russian JW. For a long time there were no "heroes" suffering for "truth." Provocation of conflict and the woof of dictators, this is their favorite pastime!