Discrimination and Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses

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Organizations and institutions that deal with violations of human rights, such as Amnesty International , UNHCR or Swiss Refugee Aid , point out in their reports that Jehovah's Witnesses are exposed to discrimination and persecution in various countries because of the exercise of their creed.

Present: situation by country

Egypt

According to the International Religious Freedom Report 2015, there are around 1,000 to 1,500 Jehovah's Witnesses in Egypt , and the activities of the religious community are prohibited.

Azerbaijan

From 2007 to 2016, Jehovah's Witnesses filed 22 complaints against Azerbaijan with the European Court of Human Rights , relating to censorship , police raids, denial of religious freedom, denial of religious registration, deportation and persecution of conscientious objectors . Since 2015, four complaints have been made by Jehovah's Witnesses against Azerbaijan for violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights .

The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe published detailed recommendations on 15 December 2014 as the Azerbaijani law be changed on religious freedom would have, so that it would meet with international standards of human rights in line. The European Parliament adopted on 9 September 2015, a joint resolution on Azerbaijan, in the u. a. the situation of freedom of assembly in Baku was mentioned.

Registration as a religious community denied

Due to a change in the law, Jehovah's Witnesses had to submit a new application for registration as a religious community in 2009. The application has not yet been processed (as of September 2016).

Services officially dissolved, worshipers punished

From November 18 to 25, 2015, nine believers were sentenced by the district court in Gäncä-Kapaz to fines of 2,000 manat (around € 1,800) each for participating in a “church service without appropriate authorization” . One believer was also sentenced to 25 days' imprisonment for “organizing and conducting church services” and for not paying the fine enough.

In January 2016, police broke up a Jehovah's Witness service in Mingəçevir , confiscated Bibles, and took all those who attended the service to the police station for questioning. The believers were sentenced to fines of 845 euros each.

In March 2016, police broke up the Jehovah's Witness memorial service in Qax , confiscated Bibles and brought all those who attended the service to the police station for questioning. The believers were sentenced to fines of 845 euros each.

Mission attempts punished

The secret police of the Ministry of National Security (MNS) in Azerbaijan arrested two women on February 17, 2015 on the grounds that they had distributed biblical literature without proper authorization in a secret police remand prison. On December 3, 2015, the UN Human Rights Committee submitted an urgent motion to Azerbaijan, demanding that the two women be released from house arrest or an appropriate alternative. The reason for this application was concerns about the deteriorating health of the people concerned. One of the two women is 80% severely disabled . The responsible judge Akram Gahramanov at the Pirallahi District Court in Baku rejected the MRA's application on December 17, 2015. One of the two women suffers from malnutrition, sleep deprivation and high psychological stress while in custody. On January 7, 2016, it became known that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had asked Azerbaijan to secure the release of the two women. They had been discriminated against because of their religion and international fair trial standards were not met. On January 28, 2016, after almost a year, both women were released from prison. The compensation required by the UN for the illegal prison sentence was initially ignored.

From January to August 2016, police officers stopped the missionary work of individual Jehovah's Witnesses in Baku 14 times by taking them to police stations and threatening them there.

Foreigners are legally prohibited from any missionary activity in Azerbaijan under threat of imprisonment of up to five years.

Reparations and damages

On February 8, 2017, the Azerbaijan Supreme Court acquitted Ms. Sakharchenko and Jabrailova of the criminal charges of distributing religious literature without government approval. The Nasimi District Court in Baku awarded the two women 9,744 manats (US $ 5,737) and 8,200 manats (US $ 4,828) in damages. An appeal by the Ministry of Finance of Azerbaijan was rejected by the Baku Court of Appeal on November 20, 2017. The Azerbaijan Republic would declare in its constitution the highest possible endorsement of human rights and freedoms and establish the duty of the courts to restore human rights and freedoms. On November 8, 2018, the State Committee for Religious Associations of the Republic of Azerbaijan recognized Jehovah's Witnesses in the capital Baku , according to an article published by Jehovah's Witnesses.

censorship

Imported religious literature must be checked by the censorship authorities and given a release stamp for a fee. If, as was the case in 2016, the authorities allegedly have no trademarks for months, Jehovah's Witnesses are not allowed to distribute the imported literature.

Prison sentences for conscientious objectors

Azerbaijan has so far not created any possibility for conscientious objectors to do civil service. Since 2010, three Jehovah's Witnesses have been sentenced to nine to twelve months' imprisonment for conscientious objection.

Eritrea

A few religious communities in Eritrea are allowed to practice religious activities under strict government supervision . These include the Eritrean Orthodox , Catholic , Evangelical Lutheran Church and Sunni Islam, as well as a Jewish community that is not officially recognized. All other religious communities, including the Jehovah's Witnesses, were made subject to mandatory registration in 2002, which amounts to an absolute ban on activities.

Some of the religious communities concerned have unsuccessfully applied for approval. So far, Jehovah's Witnesses have not been approved for state registration. As a result, they are not allowed to hold their church services and the participants at private meetings, weddings, prayer rounds, etc. at any time by security forces for an indefinite period of time in disregard of the rule of law . Some may be detained for months or years without charge or regular trial. As early as 1993, Jehovah's Witnesses were the first religious community to be collectively persecuted by the Eritrean government for their refusal to take part in a referendum and military service. In 1994 they were expelled from the national community by a presidential decree. As a result, in the mid-1990s, Jehovah's Witnesses no longer received government services and they became the target of a widespread exclusion and persecution campaign. As the UNHCR found, Jehovah's Witnesses are no longer considered citizens by the Eritrean government but are legal targets. Among other things, this leads to social discrimination in that Jehovah's Witnesses are often harassed, discriminated against, harassed and denounced to the authorities. These include not being accepted into or discharged from the civil service, not being given or being forced to give up government housing, children of Jehovah's Witnesses not being allowed to attend government schools, business licenses revoked, identity cards and travel documents confiscated or not be renewed. As a result, Jehovah's Witnesses cannot buy land, cannot legalize their marriage on the state side and can be arrested and imprisoned at any time due to the lack of identification documents.

Due to their religious orientation, refusing to use weapons, their civil rights are further curtailed. Jehovah's Witnesses, however, offer the Eritrean government to do alternative service without a weapon. As there is no alternative to national military service , this is not granted. Although members of other religious communities also refuse to do military service and they are arrested as well, the punishment of Jehovah's Witnesses is more extensive, as they are deprived of their civil rights. Among other things, the penalty for conscientious objection in Eritrea is limited to a maximum of 2 years. Some Jehovah's Witnesses have been incarcerated for more than 15 years, some of which have been taken to military prisons without being convicted through a regular trial. According to the April 2010 report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), about a third of Jehovah's Witnesses arrested for conscientious objection are over 60 years old. This leads to the conclusion that they were imprisoned for religious reasons.

Furthermore, it is not possible for Jehovah's Witnesses in Eritrea to complete a higher education as students have to complete their final school year at the Sawa Military Training Camp . As the United States Department of State noted in its 2010 Report on International Religious Freedom, economic difficulties and job search problems are foreseeable.

Since 2008, systematic and more intense repression by the Eritrean government against Jehovah's Witnesses has been observed. So in raids z. B. Long-standing members of the religious community wanted and arrested. Many arrested are not told the reason for their arrest, which was mostly the case before 2008. According to the US Department of State, the wives and daughters of Jehovah's Witnesses who had already been imprisoned were arrested in 2009, and in some cases entire families of Jehovah's Witnesses were imprisoned. Here is also of forced labor , ill-treatment and the use of torture reported to exert pressure to renounce their faith. According to the Swiss Refugee Aid, Jehovah's Witnesses were given assurance that they would be released if they sign a document in which they revoke their belief.

Georgia

Religious freedom in Georgia is granted by the Georgian constitution, but the “special role” of the Georgian Orthodox Church is laid down as a necessary foundation for the unity of the country. The legal anchoring of the status of other religious communities has so far failed to materialize, which means that religious communities are subject to private law and, among other things, have to pay taxes on aid. The Jehovah's Witnesses are particularly affected by this lack of legal certainty, along with all other religious communities, some of which are registered as charitable organizations. In February 2010, the Georgian Supreme Court ultimately revoked the legal capacity of Jehovah's Witnesses.

The Georgian Orthodox Church in particular shows a marked aversion to free-church religious communities such as Jehovah's Witnesses. Politicians and media representatives also have negative attitudes towards such religious communities. As a result, members of free-church religious communities are threatened by priests of the Georgian Orthodox Church, in some cities there is no possibility of renting rooms for church services and community meetings from the responsible authorities, and there have been repeated massive and violent attacks. Among other things, cases have been reported in which the police prevented Jehovah's Witnesses from holding services or watched violent attacks by radical supporters of the Georgian Orthodox Church, refused to intervene and sometimes even supported these attacks. In such attacks, Jehovah's Witnesses were e.g. B. beaten with iron crosses, some Jehovah's Witnesses had to be treated in a hospital.

India

Jehovah's Witnesses in India were attacked several times by a mob (mostly Hindus ) in 2013 and in previous years . In many cases in which Jehovah's Witnesses sought protection from the police, the police remained inactive and in some cases even imposed prison sentences on the attacked. The radical Hindu organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) urged all Christians in the country to become Hindus or to leave the country.

Russian Federation

Since the summer of 2009, Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia have been confronted by government agencies with various review procedures in accordance with the Anti-Extremism Act. In these various lawsuits, up to 34 writings from Jehovah's Witnesses were found to be extremist, as confirmed by the Russian Supreme Court on December 8, 2009. As a result, the Jehovah's Witnesses brought an action before the European Court of Human Rights , which declared the judgments of the Russian courts on June 10, 2010 as unlawful. In addition, the dissolution of the legal entity of Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow in 2004 was declared illegal and all allegations by the Russian Federation against Jehovah's Witnesses were dismissed. In addition, the ECHR confirmed that Jehovah's Witnesses have the right to exercise their religious activity freely within the Russian Federation. As a further consequence of the ruling, Jehovah's Witnesses must be allowed to register as a religious organization within the Russian Federation, which the Moscow Ministry of Justice has prevented since 1999. Subsequently, on September 9, the Russian Federation applied for referral to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice, which was rejected by the Grand Chamber's committee on December 13 and thus confirmed the judgment of the ECHR of June 10, 2010 as final.

On March 15, 2017, the Russian Ministry of Justice filed a motion with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to classify the religious community and administrative center of Jehovah's Witnesses as extremist, to ban their activities and to disband them. This was followed on April 20, 2017, when the community was classified as an extremist organization, banned and the property of all regional associations was confiscated.

The Sestrorezk District Court ruled on December 7, 2017, to invalidate the 17 years ago transfer of the property used as the administrative headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia to the US Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. This would legalize the confiscation of property by Russia. Appeals against the decision are possible with a 30-day notice period.

On August 17, 2017, the Vyborg City Court declared the Russian-language New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures to be extremist. In December 2017, an appeal hearing will take place in a court in St. Petersburg.

On April 20, 2018, the Supreme Court in Russia ruled against Jehovah's Witnesses. Since then, the activity of Jehovah's Witnesses has been a criminal offense, many buildings have been expropriated and Jehovah's Witnesses across the country have been interrogated and placed in custody.

Syria

The Jehovah's Witnesses religious community has been banned in Syria since 1964. It is possible to live out your religious beliefs in private, as long as it does not attract the attention of the government. Due to the prohibition of the religious community, there is often discrimination against Jehovah's Witnesses when looking for work.

Turkmenistan

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As early as 2003, Jehovah's Witnesses were prevented from leaving the country by not being granted visas and by preventing them from crossing the border. Some were rejected on the grounds that they were on a "black list". Citizens are listed there who are forbidden to leave the country.

On October 9, 2007, three of five convicted for refusing military service were Jehovah's Witnesses by the Acting Prime Minister of Turkmenistan , Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov , amnestied . These served suspended sentences, partly under the condition of forced service . The pardon took place as part of an amnesty for almost 9,000 prisoners, 10 months after Berdimuhamedow took office, whose predecessor had ruled Turkmenistan dictatorially for 15 years since 1992 .

On December 7, 2009, a Jehovah's Witness was sentenced to two years in a labor camp by the Daşoguz City Court . In 2010, three more Jehovah's Witnesses were sentenced to imprisonment for conscientious objection .

On April 25, 2012, another 19-year-old Jehovah's Witness was charged and sentenced to 18 months in prison .

The right to conscientious objection is part of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion under Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . Turkmenistan ratified the pact in 1997 . The right is also found in the Human Dimension Commitments of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

The Human Rights Committee stated on March 15 and 16, 2012 in the Concluding Observations of the 104th session after a discussion on the human rights situation in Turkmenistan :

“The State party should take all necessary measures to amend legislation to provide an alternative to military service. He should also ensure that the law clearly defines that individuals have the right to conscientious objection. He should also stop all persecution of people who conscientiously refuse to perform military service and release those who are currently detained. "

On January 24, 2013, there were massive assaults against Jehovah's Witnesses by police forces in Daşoguz City based on physical abuse , torture , threats of killing and rape . Over 30 police officers broke into a couple's home and ransacked it. The Daşoguz Police Department 6th Precinct and the public prosecutor's office confiscated the family's private belongings, including literature, a computer and a vehicle. The atrocities and acts of violence against the family and their guests then increasingly took place in the police station (police station 1 in Daşoguz). The police wanted to use torture to force their victims to withdraw their complaints to the UN Human Rights Committee . These complaints were forwarded to the Turkmen government for comment only a short time before, on 7 December 2012 (UN reference G / SO 215/51 TKM (10) - (19)). It was directed against the second conviction of one of the family's sons to a 2-year prison sentence for religious conscientious objection , which was upheld by the Turkmenistan Supreme Court in July 2012 and 10 complaints were filed with the United Nations .
In addition to the highly contemptuous act of pretending and announcing that the wife had been raped in the presence of her husband, extremely brutal torture was also used against a person who was tied with a rope by the limbs, hung up in such a way that he lost consciousness in physical pain.
These unworthy acts confirm the UN Committee against Torture's finding that in Turkmenistan :

"Persons deprived of their liberty are tortured, ill-treated and threatened by officials, especially during their arrest and preliminary investigation to obtain confessions and as additional punishment after the confession".

On the morning of January 26, 2013, immediately after the torture , the police took three men and the married couple's husband to the Dashoguz City Court and fined them. The men had "participated in an act of the religious group of Jehovah's Witnesses that is not officially registered by the Turkmen Ministry of Justice".

In December 2012, two conscientious objectors, members of Jehovah's Witnesses, were sentenced for the second time for the same cause , to a further 2 years in prison. This happened in the city of Daşoguz.

At the end of 2012 at the beginning of 2013 two new conscientious objectors were sentenced to 12 and 18 months in prison, respectively. One of them was initially put on hold at the beginning of 2012 for health reasons.

All four people were sentenced under Article 219 (1) of the Turkmenistan Criminal Code, which punishes refusal to serve in the armed forces in peacetime with up to two years in prison.

One of the four lodged a complaint with the UN Human Rights Committee on September 3, 2012 , at which point ten other complaints from conscientious objectors who are Jehovah's Witnesses had already been submitted. Within the complaints, there is mention of the Seydi labor camp, that conscientious objectors were regularly detained in a holding cell and that others were brutally beaten.

With a further arrest, a total of nine conscientious objectors, including Jehovah's Witnesses, were in custody in Turkmenistan in March 2013. Eight of the people come from the Dashoguz region. Four more suspended sentences served. Another Jehovah's Witness from the capital, Ashgabat , was fined in January 2013. In addition, one of the detainees and his family are said to have been under surveillance by the secret police of the Ministry of State Security. Instead of enforcing the freedom of conscience guaranteed by the Turkmen constitution, the district court in Dashoguz rejected the appeal in one of the proceedings. The right to conscientious objection as part of the right to freedom of religion and belief has not yet been enforced, although this was requested in March 2012 by the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

On February 26, 2014, another Jehovah's Witness was sentenced to imprisonment for conscientious objection to military service. This time by the Ruchabad District Court in Ashgabat.

On October 22, 2014, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov issued an amnesty. Eight out of nine Jehovah's Witnesses arrested at the time were released from custody. Six of those released had been detained on conscientious objection and two on charges related to their religious activities.

However, one of the detained Jehovah's Witnesses remained in custody. Since he was convicted only a few weeks before the amnesty on October 22, 2014, he could not be considered.

On February 6, 2015, police arrested four Jehovah's Witnesses for possession of religious literature. They were charged with "minor hooliganism". Three of them, including a woman, were beaten by officials from the State Security Ministry. a male believer was beaten so brutally that he lost consciousness several times. Believers were sentenced to one fine, one 30-day imprisonment and two to 45 days' imprisonment, although the Turkmen administrative law only provides for a 15-day imprisonment sentence for "minor hooliganism". The four Jehovah's Witnesses then filed a complaint with the Presidential Administration and the General Prosecutor's Office in Ashgabat.

A few days later, house searches of Jehovah's Witnesses were carried out to find “illegal” religious literature. Publications of the Watchtower Society were confiscated and criminal prosecution threatened.

Another Jehovah's Witness was sentenced to three times 15 days in prison for “illegal religious activities”. During his detention, he was repeatedly beaten by Turkmen officials for refusing to testify against his fellow believer, Bahram Hemdemow.

Another verdict was pronounced on May 19, 2015. A 52-year-old was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment by judge Gotschmurat Tscharjew of the Lebap regional court because of his religious practice . He is said to have "fueled religious hatred". On June 10, 2015, he was taken to the Seydi labor camp by Türkmenabat. He was held in solitary confinement and prevented from appeal. He has to do forced labor in Seydi and he is pressured to confess. His wife had lodged a complaint with the Turkmenistan Supreme Court, whereupon he was brutally beaten in revenge. In early August 2015, Mr. Hemdemow's attorney filed a regulatory complaint. This was rejected by the Supreme Court on August 25, 2015 on the grounds that Mr. Hemdemow "spreads the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses".

This conviction was preceded by a police raid on a church service in the convict's private rooms. Private items were confiscated and the convicted person was interrogated and physically abused. In addition, at the Serdarabat District Court, 30 of the believers present at the service were fined, 8 were sentenced to 15 days' imprisonment, one to two 15-day prison sentences, and one was physically abused and threatened with torture.

On February 15, 2016, Jehovah's Witnesses announced on their website that a 52-year-old believer had been illegally imprisoned for a year by judge Gotschmurat Tscharjew of the Lebap Regional Court on May 19, 2015.

“The Turkmen Constitution guarantees the right to 'practice any religion alone or in association with others' and 'the right to freedom of belief and to freely practice this belief'. Nevertheless, Bahram Hemdemow is still in custody - and that's only because he lives by his faith. Jehovah's Witnesses urge his dismissal. "

Uzbekistan

According to the UN Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, Heiner Bielefeldt , Jehovah's Witnesses, along with other Christian religious communities, are among the most persecuted groups in Uzbekistan .

History: situation by state

Armenia

The Armenian constitution guarantees religious freedom also for denominational minorities . The religious communities are obliged to register with the Armenian authorities. As a result of this registration, they are under state control, which means that their activities are restricted. In particular, the Jehovah's Witnesses, as well as other smaller religious communities in Armenia under discrimination suffered. It was not until 2004 that they were recognized as a religious community after several rejections. The Armenian authorities sometimes ignore the fact that Jehovah's Witnesses are a preferred target for supporters and representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church . Corresponding police investigations against the perpetrators of such attacks are slow or not carried out at all. Despite the Armenian government's promise to introduce an alternative to military service, there are still no adequate civilian alternatives that are not under the administration of the military. In addition, some of the Armenian authorities refuse to certify that the sentence has been served in full for conscientious objection, which leads to problems in obtaining other important documents such as passports and residence permits.

Among other things, because of their negative attitude towards military service, Jehovah's Witnesses come into the focus of Armenian authorities. Since there is conscription in Armenia, z. As in 2003, at least 27 members of the Jehovah's Witnesses for conscientious objection to a term of imprisonment sentenced between one and two years. In 2009, a total of 71 Jehovah's Witnesses were sentenced to between 24 and 36 months' imprisonment.

On November 12, 2013, Armenia released the last 14 Jehovah's Witnesses who were still in jail for conscientious objection. As of October 8, 2013, a total of 28 Jehovah's Witnesses who had refused to do military service on grounds of conscience have been released from prison. This shows a change in Armenia's attitude. So far, the right to conscientious objection has not been recognized there, which in the past two decades has resulted in more than 450 young Jehovah's Witnesses being jailed. For the first time since 2003, no Jehovah's Witnesses are detained in Armenia for conscientious objection to military service. Already on 8./9. Armenia released eight Jehovah's Witnesses from custody in October after a six-month sentence was reduced as part of a sentence. The first to benefit from the June 8, 2013 amendment to the law were 6 Jehovah's Witnesses, who were released on October 24. With this change in the Civil Service Act of Armenia, conscientious objectors now have the option of civil service instead of imprisonment, which is not under the supervision of the military. Over 90 Jehovah's Witnesses have applied for it. On October 23 and November 12, 2013, the country's community service commission examined and approved the applications of 71 of these young men. As the Commission stated, it will also hear the remaining applicants shortly.

Belgium

In 1933, the Christian Social Government expelled 20 foreign Jehovah's Witnesses from the country. In March 1940, the writings of Jehovah's Witnesses were banned and the Belgian authorities claimed that it had a corrosive influence on the army. The religious community was banned under German occupation from May 1940. Because of their work for the religious community, nine Belgian Jehovah's Witnesses were sent to concentration camps, three of whom were killed in the camps. Freedom of religion has existed since 1945, but under Christian Social Governments in the late 1940s and early 1950s foreign missionaries of Jehovah's Witnesses were imprisoned or expelled in Belgium. Because of their conscientious objection to military service, many Jehovah's Witnesses in Belgium were sentenced to prison terms, mostly of two years, until the early 1990s. They were banned from reading Watchtower writings in prisons until 1970. From 1956 to 1981 it was forbidden by ordinance to send Watchtower publications by Belgian post.

Bulgaria

The last time there were violent attacks against Jehovah's Witnesses gathered in a Kingdom Hall in April 2011 in the city of Burgas . The attack may be linked to the nationalist and Christian Orthodox party IMRO - Bulgarian National Movement . The attacks were filmed and videos were published.

France

In 1934/35 around 280 Jehovah's Witnesses of Polish origin who lived as miners in northern France were expelled for their missionary work. From October 1939 to August 1947, Jehovah's Witnesses were generally banned from working in France; The Watchtower magazine was then banned again from 1952 to 1975. In 2011, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that a 60% taxation of all donations made by the religious community in 1998 by the French authorities constituted a violation of religious freedom. In 2007 there were 67 Kingdom Halls arson cases.

Greece

In 1938, Greece passed a law against proselytizing to protect the Greek Orthodox Church. On the basis of this law, almost 20,000 criminal proceedings were initiated against Jehovah's Witnesses by 1992 and prison terms totaling 750 years were imposed. Until the early 1990s, applications for Kingdom Halls were typically not approved; Therefore, if Jehovah's Witnesses gathered in private apartments, the police would repeatedly break up their services and temporarily detain visitors for illegal maintenance of places of worship.

In 1949 two Jehovah's Witnesses were executed as conscientious objectors. Three other Jehovah's Witnesses were lynched around that time by mobs, sometimes with the participation of police officers and Orthodox clergy, because they refused to cross themselves because of their religious convictions. During the military dictatorship from 1967 onwards, many Jehovah's Witnesses were sentenced to long prison terms (up to 20 years) as conscientious objectors. Many in the prisons were tortured by guards, in 1971 a 20-year-old conscientious objector was killed. According to Amnesty International, between 1949 and 1977 alone, 2,728 Jehovah's Witnesses were sentenced to a total of 10,050 years in prison for refusing to do military service.

Due to interventions by the Orthodox Church, Jehovah's Witnesses were unable to register their marriages with the state for decades. Their children were therefore considered illegitimate and widows were deprived of pensions and inheritances. Jehovah's Witnesses were only allowed to have funerals outside the cemetery walls as they were classified as anti-Christian and anti-national.

Many Jehovah's Witnesses lost their jobs because of their faith. In 1989 the Ministry of Education repeated earlier instructions that Jehovah's Witnesses were generally not allowed to teach as teachers in Greek schools because of their religious affiliation, regardless of their other qualifications. Successes at the European Court of Human Rights and interventions by a UN special rapporteur for the Commission on Human Rights have significantly improved the situation for Jehovah's Witnesses in Greece in the 1990s.

Italy

From 1928, the writings published by Jehovah's Witnesses were banned in fascist Italy. Catholic clergy repeatedly called on the authorities to take action against the "Protestant propaganda" of Jehovah's Witnesses. In the 1930s there were repeated interrogations, house searches and arrests of Jehovah's Witnesses; some were sentenced to several months' imprisonment or banished for their missionary work. In 1939 about 90% of the then 150 Jehovah's Witnesses in Italy were arrested; 26 of them were sentenced to several years' imprisonment, and some were exiled, for example on the island of Ventotene . The Italian Narciso Riet , who translated and reproduced the writings of Jehovah's Witnesses into Italian, was imprisoned for several months in 1942; In 1943 he was arrested by the Gestapo, sentenced to death for undermining military strength and murdered. Since the end of the Second World War, the Italian constitution has guaranteed freedom of religion, but in practice there were still frequent arrests of missionary Jehovah's Witnesses, disruption of their worship services by Catholic activists and sometimes even official dissolution of worship services until the 1960s.

Canada

During the two world wars, Jehovah's Witnesses in Canada were persecuted for refusing to do military service or for refusing to make patriotic statements. At that time supporters were interned in “camps”, including in entire family groups.

Netherlands

During the time of the German occupation in World War II, around 500 Dutch Jehovah's Witnesses were imprisoned, around 130 of them were murdered or died while in custody or in camps.

Austria

After Jehovah's Witnesses in Austria applied for state recognition as a religious community in 1978 and again in 1987, the application for recognition was rejected after various proceedings before Austria's highest courts in 1997, which the Austrian Constitutional Court (VfGH) in 1998 for "serious procedural errors" and " arbitrary behavior ”of the responsible federal ministry was revised. Because of the decades-long practice of non-recognition and the resulting discrimination as a religious minority, the Jehovah's Witnesses filed a complaint against the state of Austria with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

This complaint was admitted by the ECHR in 2005 and passed its judgment in 2008. The ECtHR found that the state of Austria had violated the right to a fair trial under Article 6 , freedom of religion under Article 9 and the prohibition of discrimination under Article 14 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) in the course of the recognition process . The justification for the judgment was, among other things, that the behavior of the Austrian state z. For example, delaying the proceedings means encroaching on the fundamental right to freedom of belief, conscience and religion and the associated unjustified disadvantage of Jehovah's Witnesses is to be classified as discriminatory . As a first consequence, Austria had to pay 10,000 euros in damages to the Jehovah's Witnesses and to bear the procedural costs of 42,000 euros.

Soviet Union

In Operation Nord at the beginning of April 1951, with the approval of Josef Stalin, 8,576 Witnesses from 6 Soviet republics were banished to Siberia.

Turkey

Up until 1994, Jehovah's Witnesses in Turkey were punished by the state for their religious activities, and refusal to do military service continues to result in punishment, as Turkey has no right to conscientious objection. So was z. For example, a member of Jehovah's Witnesses convicted a total of nine times by Turkish courts for refusing military service. In September 2005, Jehovah's Witnesses were also arrested for holding a church service.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Urgent Action: Jehovah's Witnesses Condemned. Russian Federation. Amnesty International, December 9, 2015, accessed January 29, 2017 .
  2. ^ UNHCR documents on Jehovah's Witnesses. UNHCR, accessed January 29, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Eritrea: Situation of Jehovah's Witnesses. Information from the SFH country analysis. Swiss Refugee Aid, January 17, 2011, accessed on January 29, 2017 .
  4. ↑ United States Department of State : Egypt 2015 International Religious Freedom Report . Egypt. Editor: United States Department of State. Washington, DC 2015, pp. 4, 13–15 (English, 24 p., State.gov [PDF; 170 kB ; accessed on March 19, 2017] English: Egypt 2015 International Religious Freedom Repo . Washington, DC 2015. First edition: Washington, DC 2015). Egypt 2015 International Religious Freedom Report ( Memento of the original from June 22, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.state.gov
  5. ↑ Azerbaijan: Jehovah's Witnesses defend their rights to Freedom of Religion at the OSCE / ODIHR. In: http://hrwf.eu . Human Rights Without Frontiers, September 22, 2016, accessed February 11, 2017 .
  6. ↑ CDL-AD (2014) 043-e Opinion on the Law on non-governmental Organizations (Public Associations and Funds) as amended of the Republic of Azerbaijan, adopted by the Venice Commission at its 101st Plenary Session (Venice, 12.-13 December 2014). (PDF) European Commission for Democracy through Law, (Venice Commission), Council of Europe, December 15, 2014, accessed on January 13, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Resolution of the European Parliament on Azerbaijan (2015/2840 (RSP)). European Parliament, 9 September 2015, accessed 13 January 2016 .
  8. ↑ Azerbaijan: Jehovah's Witnesses defend their rights to Freedom of Religion at the OSCE / ODIHR. In: http://hrwf.eu . Human Rights Without Frontiers, September 22, 2016, accessed February 11, 2017 .
  9. ↑ LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS - Azerbaijan. In: jw.org. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, accessed January 12, 2016 .
  10. ↑ Azerbaijan: Jehovah's Witnesses defend their rights to Freedom of Religion at the OSCE / ODIHR. In: http://hrwf.eu . Human Rights Without Frontiers, September 22, 2016, accessed February 11, 2017 .
  11. ↑ Azerbaijan: Jehovah's Witnesses defend their rights to Freedom of Religion at the OSCE / ODIHR. In: http://hrwf.eu . Human Rights Without Frontiers, September 22, 2016, accessed February 11, 2017 .
  12. ^ Felix Corley: Azerbaijan: Latest secret police prisoners - two female Jehovah's Witnesses. The European Country of Origin. Information Network - www.ecoi.net, February 23, 2015, accessed on January 13, 2016 (English).
  13. ^ Felix Corley: No Christmas meetings for worship for Georgian Orthodox? The European Country of Origin. Information Network - www.ecoi.net, December 18, 2015, accessed on January 13, 2016 (English).
  14. ↑ Irina Sachartschenko and Walida Jabrailowa finally released from prison. In: jw.org. January 28, 2016, accessed February 7, 2016 .
  15. ↑ Azerbaijan Court Compensates Irina Zakharchenko and Valida Jabrayilova. In: jw.org. December 11, 2017, accessed December 12, 2017 .
  16. ^ Jehovah's Witnesses: Legal Recognition of Jehovah's Witnesses in Baku (Azerbaijan). In: jw.org. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania , November 22, 2018, accessed December 5, 2018 .
  17. ↑ Azerbaijan: Jehovah's Witnesses defend their rights to Freedom of Religion at the OSCE / ODIHR. In: http://hrwf.eu . Human Rights Without Frontiers, September 22, 2016, accessed February 11, 2017 .
  18. ↑ Azerbaijan: Jehovah's Witnesses defend their rights to Freedom of Religion at the OSCE / ODIHR. In: http://hrwf.eu . Human Rights Without Frontiers, September 22, 2016, accessed February 11, 2017 .
  19. ^ Situation of the religious communities in selected non-Islamic countries. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, Division 413 - Analysis of non-Islamic countries of origin, August 31, 2011, pp. 18–19; 23-24 , archived from the original on June 23, 2012 ; Retrieved December 20, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bamf.de
  20. ↑ Alexandra Geiser: Eritrea: Situation of Jehovah's Witnesses. (PDF) Swiss Refugee Aid SFH, January 17, 2011, pp. 1–5 , accessed on December 20, 2011 .
  21. ^ Situation of the religious communities in selected non-Islamic countries. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, Section 413 - Analysis of non-Islamic countries of origin, August 31, 2011, pp. 25–27 , archived from the original on June 23, 2012 ; Retrieved December 20, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bamf.de
  22. ↑ Brief country information for Georgia. Amnesty International, 2001, archived from the original August 8, 2014 ; Retrieved December 20, 2011 .
  23. ↑ United States Commission on International Religious Freedom: Annual Report 2013 - Tier 2: India , published on April 30, 2013, accessed on February 6, 2015. In it the chapter Harassment and Violence against Religious Minorities with examples from Madikeri and other places of the Karnataka State .
  24. ↑ United States Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor: July-December, 2010 International Religious Freedom Report - India , published on September 13, 2011, accessed on February 6, 2015. Chapter II. Status of Government Respect for Religious Freedom with examples from Nanganallur, a suburb of Chennai , from Bangalore and from Karwar .
  25. ^ Situation of the religious communities in selected non-Islamic countries. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, Section 413 - Analysis of non-Islamic countries of origin, August 31, 2011, pp. 57–59 , archived from the original on June 23, 2012 ; Retrieved December 20, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bamf.de
  26. ↑ European Court of Human Rights (ed.): CASE OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES OF MOSCOW AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA . Application no. 302/02. Strasbourg November 22, 2010 ( online version ).
  27. ^ Stefan Muckel Walter de Gruyter: Decisions in church matters - 1.1.-30.6.2010 . Ed .: The Institute for Canon Law and the History of Rhenish Canon Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Cologne. January 1, 2014, p. 326-371 .
  28. ↑ Russian Government files lawsuit against Jehovah's Witnesses to declare it an extremist group. The Independent.
  29. ↑ Deutschlandfunk : Supreme Court Bans Jehovah's Witnesses , April 20, 2017
  30. ^ Russian Court Opens the Way to Seize the Witnesses' National Office. In: jw.org. December 11, 2017, accessed December 12, 2017 .
  31. ↑ Russia declares the Bible to be "extremist". In: jw.org. August 29, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017 .
  32. ↑ Russian Court Hears Appeal on Declaring the Bible “Extremist”. In: jw.org. December 11, 2017, accessed December 12, 2017 .
  33. ↑ Jehovah's Witnesses: Russia begins to systematically take action against individual Jehovah's Witnesses. In: www.jw.org. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, accessed July 18, 2018 .
  34. ^ Situation of religious communities in selected Islamic countries. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, Section 412 - Analysis of Islamic Countries of Origin, August 31, 2011, pp. 104, 109 , archived from the original on January 11, 2012 ; Retrieved December 20, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bamf.de
  35. ↑ Turkmenistan: International Religious Freedom Report 2004 . United States Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. May 21, 2015. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  36. ↑ Michael Kirschner: Turkmenistan: Entry and Exit / Importance of the Passport. Swiss Refugee Aid SFH, November 4, 2004, accessed on March 14, 2016 .
  37. ↑ Rudi Friedrich: Turkmenistan: three conscientious objectors amnestied, two others in custody. Connection e. V. and AG “KDV im Krieg”, December 9, 2007, accessed on March 6, 2016 .
  38. ↑ Felix Corley: TURKMENISTAN: Four prisoners amnestied, one to be Deported? Forum 18 News Service, December 9, 2007, accessed March 6, 2016 .
  39. ^ Rudi Friedrich: Turkmenistan: Conscientious Objectors NN sentenced to two years in prison. Connection e. V. and AG “KDV im Krieg”, February 10, 2010, accessed on March 6, 2016 .
  40. ↑ Andreas Speck: TURKMENISTAN: Conscientious objector NN sentenced to two years in prison. War Resisters' International, February 10, 2010, accessed March 6, 2016 .
  41. ^ Turkmenistan: conscientious objectors AH, AR and DB convicted. Connection e. V. and AG “KDV im Krieg”, November 2010, accessed on March 6, 2016 .
  42. ↑ Andreas Speck: TURKMENISTAN: Conscientious objectors AH, AR and DB sentenced to prison. War Resisters' International, October 22, 2010, accessed March 6, 2016 .
  43. ↑ Turkmenistan: Conscientious objector JN sentenced to 18 months in prison. Connection e. V. and AG “KDV im Krieg”, September 1, 2012, accessed on March 6, 2016 .
  44. ↑ Andreas Speck: TURKMENISTAN: Conscientious objector JN sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment. War Resisters' International, August 20, 2012, accessed March 6, 2016 .
  45. ↑ Turkmenistan: Conscientious objector JN arrested. Connection e. V. and AG “KDV im Krieg”, June 1, 2012, accessed on March 6, 2016 .
  46. ↑ TURKMENISTAN: Conscientious objector JN sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment. War Resisters' International, May 17, 2012, accessed March 6, 2016 .
  47. ↑ Turkmenistan: Conscientious objector JN arrested. Connection e. V. and AG “KDV im Krieg”, June 1, 2012, accessed on March 6, 2016 .
  48. ↑ TURKMENISTAN: Arrest of conscientious objector Juma Nazarov. War Resisters' International, May 17, 2012, accessed March 6, 2016 .
  49. ↑ Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 40 of the Covenant - Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee - Turkmenistan. United Nations Human Rights Office of the high Commissioner - International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, April 19, 2012, accessed March 6, 2016 .
  50. ↑ a b Turkmenistan - family of conscientious objectors persecuted. Connection e. V. and AG “KDV im Krieg”, February 14, 2014, accessed on March 6, 2016 .
  51. ^ A b Felix Corley: TURKMENISTAN: Raid, two-day detentions, torture, rape threat, fines. Forum 18 News Service, February 14, 2013, accessed on March 6, 2016 .
  52. ↑ Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 40 of the Covenant - Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee - Turkmenistan. United Nations Human Rights Office of the high Commissioner - International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, April 19, 2012, accessed March 6, 2016 .
  53. ^ Turkmenistan: conscientious objector convicted for the second time. Connection e. V. and AG “KDV im Krieg”, February 22, 2013, accessed on March 6, 2016 .
  54. ↑ TURKMENISTAN: Arrest of conscientious objector JN War Resisters' International, May 17, 2012, accessed on March 6, 2016 (English).
  55. ^ Turkmenistan: conscientious objector convicted for the second time. Connection e. V. and AG “KDV im Krieg”, February 22, 2013, accessed on March 6, 2016 .
  56. ^ United Nations Human Rights Office of the high Commissioner. Retrieved March 6, 2016 .
  57. ↑ Turkmenistan: Nine conscientious objectors imprisoned. Connection e. V. and AG "KDV im Krieg", April 2013, accessed on March 12, 2016 .
  58. ↑ Felix Corley: TURKMENISTAN: Ninth imprisoned conscientious objectors. Forum 18 News Service, March 25, 2013, accessed on March 12, 2016 .
  59. ↑ Turkmenistan: Conscientious objector sentenced to one year in prison. Connection e. V. and AG “KDV im Krieg”, March 2013, accessed on March 12, 2016 .
  60. ↑ Release conscientious objector PP War Resisters' International, April 11, 2014, accessed on March 12, 2016 (English).
  61. ↑ Felix Corley: TURKMENISTAN: One-year prison term for latest conscientious objector. Forum 18 News Service, Oslo, Norway, March 21, 2014, accessed on March 12, 2016 .
  62. ↑ Turkmenistan amnesties most of Jehovah's Witnesses. Connection e. V. and AG “KDV im Krieg”, February 2015, accessed on March 12, 2016 .
  63. ↑ Turkmenistan releases Jehovah's Witnesses from custody. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, November 13, 2014, accessed March 12, 2016 .
  64. ↑ Turkmenistan sentenced BH to four years in prison for practicing religion. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, November 24, 2015, accessed March 12, 2016 .
  65. ↑ One year unjustly imprisoned in Turkmenistan. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, February 15, 2016, accessed March 12, 2016 .
  66. ↑ Christoph Wagenseil: Freedom of religion has no lobby in Germany. Religious Studies Media and Information Service e. V. - REMID, February 12, 2013, accessed May 17, 2014 .
  67. ^ Religious minority faces discrimination in Armenia. Amnesty International, February 16, 2008, accessed December 22, 2011 .
  68. ↑ Amnesty Report 2009 - Armenia. Amnesty International, December 31, 2009, accessed December 22, 2011 .
  69. ^ Amnesty Report 2010 - Armenia. Amnesty International, December 31, 2013, accessed December 22, 2011 .
  70. ↑ Armenia releases all Jehovah's Witnesses from custody. Jehovah's Witnesses, November 20, 2013, accessed January 26, 2014 .
  71. ↑ Willy Fautre: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses in Belgium. in: Gerhard Besier, Katarzyna Stoklosa (ed.): Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe - past and present. Volume 1. (= Studies on Contemporary Church History, Volume 5) Berlin, 2013. pp. 19–51.
  72. ↑ http://www.giessener-zeitung.de/giessen/beitrag/49821/poebelangriff-auf-jehovas-zeugen-in-bulgarien/
  73. ^ A b Frank Stier: Clash of Cultures in Bulgaria? heise.de, Telepolis, June 1, 2011
  74. ↑ mob attack on Jehovah's Witnesses in Bulgaria. Jehovah's Witnesses, April 26, 2011, accessed July 6, 2011 .
  75. ↑ Jehovah's Witnesses persecution 17-04-2011 commemoration in Bulgaria . Video on Youtube by InformationWorldNew from April 18, 2011.
  76. ↑ Acceptable right-wing extremism in Bulgaria? dw-world.de from December 3, 2011
  77. ↑ Régis Dericquebourg: Jehovah's Witnesses in France in the 20th century. in: Gerhard Besier, Katarzyna Stoklosa (ed.): Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe - past and present. Volume 1. (= Studies on Contemporary Church History, Vol. 5) Berlin, 2013. pp. 53–90.
  78. ↑ Athanasios Reppas, Timotheos Sigalas: Jehovah's Witnesses in Greece. A story of perseverance. in: Gerhard Besier, Katarzyna Stoklosa ( ed. ): Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe - Past and Present, Volume 1 (= Studies on Contemporary Church History, Vol. 5) Berlin, 2013. pp. 267–297.
  79. ↑ Paolo Piccioli, Max Wörnhard: Italy. Jehovah's Witnesses - A Century of Oppression, Growth, Recognition. in: Gerhard Besier, Katarzyna Stoklosa: Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe - past and present. Volume 1. Berlin 2013. pp. 299-432.
  80. ↑ Anne-Marie Pedersen; M. James Penton: Jehovah's Witnesses ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia . December 16, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  81. ↑ Barbara Yaffee: Witnesses seek apology for wartime persecution. Globe and Mail , October 9, 1984, p. 4.
  82. ↑ Tineke Piersma: your faith faithful. Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Netherlands during World War II. in: Gerhard Besier, Katarzyna Stoklosa: Jehovah's Witnesses in Europe - past and present. Volume 1. Berlin 2013. pp. 433-511.
  83. ↑ CASE OF RELIGIONSGEMEINSCHAFT OF THE Witnesses JEHOVAH AND OTHERS v. AUSTRIA. European Court of Human Rights, October 31, 2008, accessed July 19, 2012 .
  84. ↑ 50 лет операции «Север». Archived from the original on February 18, 2012 ; Retrieved June 7, 2016 .
  85. ↑ Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses 2008, pp. 196–211
  86. ^ Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices -Turkey. US Department of State, March 6, 2007, accessed December 21, 2011 .