Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses

Organizations and agencies that deal with violations of human rights such as Amnesty International, UNHCR or the Swiss Refugee Council, have to acknowledge the fact that Jehovah's Witnesses are exposed because of the exercise of their faith in different countries attacks and persecution.

Persecution by country

Armenia

Through the Armenian Constitution, religious freedom, guaranteed by religious minorities. The religious communities are doing to registration with the Armenian authorities. This registration are these religious communities under state control, represents a limitation of their activities. The witnesses have particular Jehovah, as well as other smaller religious communities to suffer from discrimination in Armenia. So they were only in 2004, after several rejections recognized as a religious community. Mostly ignoring the fact that Jehovah's Witnesses are a preferred target of supporters and representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church by the Armenian authorities of the fact. Corresponding police investigations against the perpetrators of such attacks sluggish or will not be performed. Despite the commitment of the Armenian government to introduce an alternative to military service are still no appropriate civilian alternatives available that are not under the administration of the military. It also reject the Armenian authorities from partially to certify the full serving of prison sentences 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 the military service advised Jehovah's Witnesses in the focus of Armenian authorities. As in Armenia military service is a mandatory requirement, for example, were In 2003, at least 27 members of the Jehovah's Witnesses convicted of conscientious objection to imprisonment of between one and two years. In 2009, a total of 71 Jehovah's Witnesses were sentenced to prison terms of between 24 and 36 months.

On November 12, 2013 Armenia dismissed the last 14 Jehovah's Witnesses from prison who still sat in prison for draft evasion. Since October 8, 2013 for a total of 28 Jehovah's Witnesses who refused military service on grounds of conscience freed from prison. This results in a change in Armenia's attitude is emerging. So far there have the right to conscientious objection was not recognized - which has led in the past two decades, to over 450 young Jehovah's Witnesses were sent to prison. Well no witness is in Armenia for the first time since 1993, Jehovah's more imprisoned because he refused military service on grounds of conscience. Already on 8/9 October 8 dismissed Armenia Jehovah's Witnesses from prison after the prison sentences as part of a parole were shortened to 6 months. The first, which zugutekam the amendment of June 8, 2013, 6 were Jehovah's Witnesses who were set on October 24 released. With this change in the Civilian Service Act Armenia conscientious objectors instead of prison now is the possibility of a civil service open, not under the authority of the military. More than 90 Jehovah's Witnesses have made ​​such a request. On 23 October and 12 November 2013, the Civil Service Commission of the country has the applications of 71 of these young men tested and approved. As the Commission stated that it will listen to the remaining applicants shortly.

Bulgaria

In the city of Burgas ( Bulgaria) came last in April 2011 Jehovah's violent attacks against assembled in a Kingdom Hall witnesses. Perhaps the attack is related to the Christian- democratic and right-wing political party VMRO- BND. The attacks were filmed and released videos.

Eritrea

Under strict surveillance by the government to a few religious communities in Eritrea may operate religious. These include the Eritrean Orthodox, Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran Church and Sunni Islam, as well as a Jewish community which is not officially recognized. All other religious communities, including the Jehovah's Witnesses, 2002 a registration requirement were assumed, what an absolute operating ban equals.

Some of the religious communities concerned have unsuccessfully applied for approval, Jehovah's Witnesses were not previously approved for a state registration. This has the consequence that should not deter those services and their participants in private meetings, weddings, prayer rounds, etc. at any time by security forces indefinitely disregarding the rule of law sometimes be taken for months or years without charge or trial at regular. As early as 1993 the Jehovah's Witnesses was because of their refusal to participate in a referendum and refuse military service followed as the first collective group by the government of Eritrea. In 1994, Jehovah's excluded from the national community through a Presidential Decree to the witnesses. This led the mid-1990s to Jehovah's will not get any more government services, the witnesses and they were the target of a comprehensive exclusion and persecution campaign. As the UNHCR realize are the Eritrean government Jehovah's Witnesses no longer considered citizens but are considered legitimate targets. This leads by Jehovah's Witnesses are often harassed, discriminated against, harassed and denounced to authorities inter alia to social discrimination. This includes that they are not included in the government service or were released from him, received no public housing or had to give up this, the children of Jehovah's Witnesses allowed to attend public schools, licenses were revoked for operating a business, confiscated identity cards and travel documents have been or will not be renewed. As a result, the witnesses can not get land Jehovah, her marriage to staalicher page can not legalize and can be arrested and detained by the lack of identity documents at any time.

Because of their religious orientation to refuse service to the weapon, their civil rights being curtailed. Jehovah's Witnesses, the Eritrean government have, however, to perform alternative service without a weapon. This is because there is no alternative to national military service, not granted. Although members of other religious communities also refuse military service and also they are arrested, the punishment of Jehovah's Witnesses is comprehensive, since they thereby be deprived of civic rights. Among other things, the punishment for draft evasion in Eritrea is restricted to a maximum of 2 years. Some Jehovah's Witnesses have been imprisoned for more than 15 years and were partly in military prisons deported without which they were convicted by a regular court proceedings. According to the report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom ( USCIRF ) in April 2010, about a third of because of conscientious objection imprisoned Jehovah's Witnesses are over 60 years old. This leaves the conclusion to which they have been imprisoned on religious grounds.

Furthermore, it is not possible to attend Jehovah's Witnesses in Eritrea higher education because students need are receiving their final year of school in Sawa Military Training Camp. As the United States Department of State held in its report on international religious freedom in 2010, economic difficulties, and problems in finding a job are so predictable.

Since 2008, a systematic and intense repression of the Eritrean government against witnesses is to observe Jehovah. Thus, for example, in raids long-standing members of the religious community searched and arrested. Thank arrested is this the reason for their arrest is not told what was the case before 2008 mostly. According to the U.S. Department of State wives and daughters in 2009 also been arrested by an imprisoned Jehovah's Witnesses, some whole families of Jehovah's Witnesses were imprisoned. It is also reported of forced labor, beatings and the use of torture, so that the Jehovah's Witnesses give up their faith. Thus, the assurance of the release was given according to the Swiss Refugee Jehovah's Witnesses, provided they sign a document in which they renounce their faith.

Georgia

While religious freedom in Georgia is granted by the Constitution of Georgia, but the " special role " of the Georgian Orthodox Church is established as a necessary foundation for the unity of the country. The legal recognition of the status of other religious communities has so far failed to materialize, with the result that religious communities are subject to private law and have to pay, inter alia, assistance taxes. From this lack of legal certainty, the witnesses are in addition to all other religious communities, which are registered in part as a charitable organization, Jehovah's particularly affected. The Supreme Court of Georgia withdrew from the Jehovah's Witnesses in February 2010, in the last instance, the legal capacity.

Especially the part of the Georgian Orthodox Church Free Church religious communities such as the Jehovah's Witnesses met with a pronounced aversion. Politicians and the media show such religious communities against any positive attitude. This means that members of free-church religious communities are threatened by a priest of the Georgian Orthodox Church, there is no way in some cities to rent by the competent authorities halls for worship and community meetings, and there were repeated massive and violent attacks. Among other reports of cases in which the police the holding of religious services of Jehovah's Witnesses prevented or violent attacks by radical supporters of the Georgian Orthodox Church idly watched and refused to intervene these attacks supported in part. In such attacks Jehovah's Witnesses, for example, beaten with iron crosses, some Jehovah's Witnesses had to be treated in a hospital then.

Austria

After Jehovah's Witnesses in Austria in 1978 and the national acknowledgment had applied as a religious community once again in 1987, it has been rejected the application for recognition by various methods before Austria's supreme courts in 1997, which the Austrian Constitutional Court ( Constitutional Court ) in 1998 because of the " serious procedural error " and the " arbitrary behavior " of the competent Ministry has been revised. Because of the decades-long practice of non-recognition and the consequent discrimination as a religious minority, submitted 1998, the Jehovah's Witnesses at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) complaint against the State of Austria a.

This appeal was allowed by the ECtHR in 2005 and in 2008 it gave the ruling. The ECtHR found that the state of Austria had violated the right to a fair trial under Article 6, the 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) as part of the recognition process. The judgment was justified, among other things, that the behavior of the Austrian state, for example, by the spread of the process means a violation of the fundamental right to thought, conscience and religion and the accompanying unjustified deprivation of Jehovah's Witnesses to be discriminatory. As a first consequence, Austria had to pay to the Jehovah's Witnesses and bear the costs of proceedings in the amount of 42,000 euro 10,000 euro in damages.

Russian Federation

Since summer 2009, Jehovah's Witnesses are confronted in Russia by state agencies with verification procedures under the Anti - Extremism Law. In these various court cases up to 34 copies of the Jehovah's Witnesses were classified as extremist, which was confirmed by the Russian Supreme Court on 8 December 2009. Thereupon brought the Jehovah's Witnesses before the European Court of Human Rights, which declared the judgments of Russian courts on 10 June 2010 to be illegal. Furthermore, the dissolution of the legal entity of Jehovah's Witnesses was declared in Moscow in 2004 to be illegal and all allegations of the Russian Federation were dismissed against Jehovah's Witnesses. In addition, the witness of Jehovah was confirmed by the ECHR the right to free exercise of religious activity within the Russian Federation. As a further consequence of the judgment the witnesses registration as a religious organization of Jehovah must be enabled within the Russian Federation, which was prevented in 1999 by the Moscow Justice Department. In the course of the Russian Federation has requested on September 9, for referral to the Grand Chamber of the European Court, which was rejected by the panel of the Grand Chamber on 13 December, confirming the judgment of the ECtHR of 10 June 2010 as final.

Syria

In Syria, the Jehovah's Witnesses are banned since 1964. Your religious beliefs in private live out is possible if the government's attention is not drawn up. Due to the prohibition of the religious community it is frequently Jehovah's job search discrimination of witnesses.

Turkey

Until 1994, Jehovah's Witnesses were punished in Turkey for their religious faith activity by state agencies, the refusal of military service continues to attract punishment by itself because there is no right to conscientious objection in Turkey. Thus, for example, a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses nine times condemned by Turkish courts for refusal to perform military service. In September 2005, also Jehovah's Witnesses were arrested because they held a church service.