[{"body":"A religious study by Y. Y. Aseeva is re-read in court. The defense again draws attention to the fact that at the time of the examination, Aseyeva did not have the appropriate education.\nAt the request of the lawyer, the testimony of religious scholar Sergei Ivanenko, which he gave in 2022, is read out. Commenting on Aseeva's study, Ivanenko noted that at the time of the examination, she worked as a neurologist, was the founder of the Heritage of Islam LRO, but did not have scientific works in the field of religious studies. In addition, Aseeva described the methodology for conducting the examination, but did not apply it in her conclusions.\nIvanenko drew attention to the fact that there are no \"materials in the case where the defendants would talk about their hostility to other religions, about the need to somehow suppress these religions, to infringe on the rights of their followers.\" Ivanenko also explained that holding religious services by Jehovah's Witnesses and disseminating their religious views \"is a canonical activity aimed at studying the Bible and biblical literature.\"\n","caseTitle":"The Case of Kuzhelkov and Prokhorov in Kirsanov","date":"2024-08-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/kirsanov/index.html#20240801","regions":["tambov"],"tags":["first-instance","expert-comments","studies-violations"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"Yulia Aseeva's religious study was re-announced in court. The defense again draws attention to the fact that at the time of the examination, Aseyeva did not have the appropriate education.\nAt the request of the lawyer, the testimony of religious scholar Sergey Ivanenko, which he gave in 2022, is read out. Commenting on Aseeva's study, Ivanenko noted that at the time of the examination she worked as a neurologist, was the founder of the LRO \"Heritage of Islam\", but did not have scientific works in the field of religious studies. In addition, although Aseyeva described the methodology for conducting the examination, she did not apply it in her conclusions.\nIvanenko drew attention to the fact that there are no \"materials in the case where the defendants would talk about their hostility to other religions, that it is necessary to somehow suppress these religions, to infringe on the rights of their followers.\" Ivanenko also explained that holding meetings for worship by Jehovah's Witnesses and spreading their religious views is \"a canonical activity aimed at studying the Bible and biblical literature.\"\n","caseTitle":"Case of Prokhorov in Kirsanov","date":"2024-08-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/kirsanov2/index.html#20240801","regions":["tambov"],"tags":["first-instance","studies-violations","expert-comments"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"Sergey Astapov, Doctor of Philosophy, Head of the Department of Philosophy of Religion and Religious Studies of the Institute of Philosophy and Socio-Political Sciences (Southern Federal University), is being interrogated. He makes a brief excursion into the history of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, talks about their confessional structure and some creeds. He also expresses the opinion that the literature of any denomination can be attributed to propagandizing the superiority of its religion.\nThe specialist describes Jehovah's Witnesses as law-abiding citizens. He declares: \"There can be no extremist calls from Jehovah's Witnesses simply because it follows from creeds.\"\n","caseTitle":"The Case of Yeritsyan and Others in Novocherkassk","date":"2024-03-22T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/novocherkassk/index.html#20240322","regions":["rostov"],"tags":["first-instance","expert-comments","interrogation"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"The Irkutsk Regional Court is considering complaints from lawyers and defendants about the extension of the period of detention. Judge Pavel Noskov upholds the ruling of the court of first instance.\n","caseTitle":"The Case of Martynov and Others in Irkutsk","date":"2023-10-09T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/irkutsk/index.html#20231009","regions":["irkutsk"],"tags":["sizo","first-instance","expert-comments"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"The court is interrogating a well-known religious scholar, Doctor of Philosophy, State Counselor of the Russian Federation S. I. Ivanenko, who explains that the individual spiritual activity of Jehovah's Witnesses is carried out according to the model left by Christians of the first century. The congregation, according to Ivanenko, is a religious group, not an LRO.\n2 defense witnesses are interrogated, who give Kuzhelkov positive characteristics.\n","caseTitle":"The Case of Kuzhelkov and Prokhorov in Kirsanov","date":"2022-06-21T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/kirsanov/index.html#20220621","regions":["tambov"],"tags":["first-instance","expert-comments"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"The court is interrogating religious scholar, Doctor of Philosophy, State Counselor of the Russian Federation Sergey Ivanenko, who explains that the individual spiritual activity of Jehovah's Witnesses is carried out according to the model left by Christians of the first century. The meeting, according to Ivanenko, is a religious group, not a legal entity (LRO).\n","caseTitle":"Case of Prokhorov in Kirsanov","date":"2022-06-21T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/kirsanov2/index.html#20220621","regions":["tambov"],"tags":["first-instance","expert-comments"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"The court continues to watch videos of the services. The defense emphasizes that they do not contain extremist statements or calls for the overthrow of the state system.\nThe registration documents of the local legal entity (LRO) of Jehovah's Witnesses are being examined. The defense draws attention to the fact that before the liquidation of the LRO, its meetings were held once a year, while divine services, the recording of which was provided to the court, were held twice a week.\n","caseTitle":"The Case of Moiseyev and Others in Gukovo","date":"2022-05-13T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/gukovo/index.html#20220513","regions":["rostov"],"tags":["first-instance","expert-comments"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"The wives of the defendants are allowed to communicate with their husbands in the corridor, but they are not allowed into the courtroom.\nAlla Shadrina, a researcher at the Southern Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, is being interrogated. She claims to be a long-time religious scholar, but her testimony reveals a lack of knowledge of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. For example, she claims that Jehovah's Witnesses have never been registered in Russia, and she has never heard of the rehabilitation of believers in 1996.\nNevertheless, Shadrina recognizes that everyone has a state-guaranteed right to choose treatment, in particular to refuse blood transfusions. The witness also states that many religions believe in their exclusivity.\n","caseTitle":"The Case of Moiseyev and Others in Gukovo","date":"2022-01-21T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/gukovo/index.html#20220121","regions":["rostov"],"tags":["first-instance","expert-comments"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"A secret witness under the pseudonym \"Tolstoy\" is interrogated. The court grants his request for declassification. Believers recognize him as a former co-religionist. He does not provide information on the merits of the case, expresses a negative attitude towards Jehovah's Witnesses, and answers questions from the defense evasively.\nFriends of the defendants, as always, meet and accompany the paddy wagon with them with applause.\n","caseTitle":"The Case of Moiseyev and Others in Gukovo","date":"2022-01-14T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/gukovo/index.html#20220114","regions":["rostov"],"tags":["first-instance","expert-comments"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"During the trial, the prosecution witness, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor of the Department of Philosophy of the Trans-Baikal State University Artyom Zhukov is interrogated. Since 2002, he has been involved in the work of the Council on Religious Associations under the Administration of the Chita Region and the Governor of the Trans-Baikal Territory. He believes that the activities of the Chita group are the canonical activities of Jehovah's Witnesses throughout the world.\n\"The life of Jehovah's Witnesses is one of the most dramatic, in Transbaikalia, I mean, and the most dramatic and holistic moments. The existence of the organization itself, I think, is still underestimated at the world level, and their feat will still be appreciated. And, of course, the persecution that they are experiencing today will also be assessed in due time, and in due time everything will be restored to their rights. Because there are no other options in world history. But at the moment, real people are suffering.\" (During the Soviet years, Jehovah's Witnesses were repressed for their faith, exiled, and sent to camps in Siberia, Transbaikalia, and the Far East.)\nRegarding the position of Jehovah's Witnesses regarding the rejection of blood donation, Zhukov notes: \"If a person accepts this as his decision, then I do not think that this contradicts the basic principles of the Constitution.\" He confirms that they do not refuse medical treatment: \"They are normal people, and when medical intervention is necessary, it is quite obvious.\"\n","caseTitle":"Case of Ermolaev and Others in Chita","date":"2021-05-27T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/chita/index.html#20210527","regions":["zabaykalsky"],"tags":["first-instance","expert-comments"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"Interrogation of a specialist in the field of the history of religion N. S. Mayorova. It affirms that religious beliefs are an inner, personal choice, and that joint worship services performed by Jehovah's Witnesses are a way of expressing religious beliefs. \"We have freedom of conscience in our country,\" she says.\n","caseTitle":"The Case of Terebilov in Kostroma","date":"2021-05-12T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/kostroma/index.html#20210512","regions":["kostroma"],"tags":["first-instance","expert-comments"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"\"To evict forever.\" The government's order for the largest religious deportation in the USSR, which commenced in April of 1951, changed the lives of thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses forever. Men and women, the elderly and babies - about 10,000 individuals - were loaded onto freight trains and transported in inhumane conditions from the western regions of the country to the north without the right to return. They were deprived of their homes, property, and some even their lives for their faith in God, because it did not fit into the framework of Soviet ideology.\nWhat did believers have to endure and what are the parallels with the events in modern Russia? The victims of the tragedy and experts talk about this in a video prepared for the 70th anniversary of the special operation, codenamed \"North\".\n","category":"eyewitnesses","date":"2021-04-07T13:05:00+03:00","duration":"9:26","image":{"jpg":"/news/2021/04/9/9_hu_9c160327734f0ab.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2021/04/9/9_hu_ed1834f429f10400.jpg","webp":"/news/2021/04/9/9_hu_b61835accb799031.webp","webp2x":"/news/2021/04/9/9_hu_ce05a22793d83f3d.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2021/04/9.html","regions":["moscow"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["1951deport","ussr","video","expert-comments","expert-conclusions","deportation"],"title":"70 years of Operation North - eyewitnesses and experts discuss the mass deportation of Jehovah's Witnesses in the USSR","type":"video"},{"body":"On April 1, 2021, in the Rosbalt press center, religious scholars and human rights activists talked about the anniversary of the events of April 1, 1951 - the mass deportation of almost 10 thousand followers of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses from the Baltic States, Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine to Siberia, from Tomsk to Lake Baikal. The conference was broadcast in its entirety on the Internet.\nYaroslav Sivulsky, a representative of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses, mentioned in his speech that Operation North directly affected his family. \"By checking archival sources, we were able to establish that a total of 9,793 Jehovah's Witnesses and their family members were deported,\" Sivulsky said, \"This figure includes those who died and were born on the road.” His presentation contained many additional details related to the operation.\nReligious scholar Sergey Ivanenko spoke about the role of propaganda in the USSR, as well as its role in contemporary events in Russia with followers of this religion. Making a thorough review, Ivanenko emphasized: \"The policy of forceful suppression of Jehovah's Witnesses, which has been carried out in the Russian Federation since 2017, is futile. The lessons of Operation North and the analysis of the current situation, including the steadfastness of Jehovah's Witnesses in defending their beliefs, bear witness to this. It seems advisable, from the point of view of Russia's national interests, to implement a set of measures to return Jehovah's Witnesses to the legal field\".\nKazakhstan religious scholar Artur Artemiev, author of Jehovah's Witnesses in Kazakhstan: A Social-Historical and Religious Analysis, revised in 2020, described how the Soviet policy of exiles and camps applied to Jehovah's Witnesses affected the growth of the religion's followers in his country.\nThe topic addressed by human rights activist Valery Borschev of the Moscow Helsinki Group was formulated as follows: \"The Soviet Roots of Modern Discrimination against Believers.\" One of his substantiated theses: \"Persecution only strengthens Jehovah's Witnesses. The authorities must understand that.\"\nValentin Gefter, a member of the Expert Council under the Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia, addressed \"How Prisoners of Conscience Emerge in Modern Russia.” Discussing the root of persecution, he said: \"Jehovah's Witnesses are not against the state—they are outside the state.\" He went on to explain how and why this causes persecution.\nAleksandr Verkhovsky, a member of the Presidential Human Rights Council, said that the organization he heads (the Sova Information and Analytical Center) keeps records of all cases of improper application of the extremism law to Jehovah's Witnesses. \"Let's start with the good,\" Verkhovsky said, \"Last year, 110 new defendants were added to the cases of banned Jehovah's Witnesses organizations. It would seem that what is good here? That it is half as many as the year before. Will this campaign be reduced? This is a very important question, and we do not know the answer.\" Verkhovsky is convinced that the state must sooner or later stop persecuting Jehovah's Witnesses. He cited several models of how this might work.\nParticipants had the opportunity to answer journalists' questions.\nThis press conference was not the only commemorative event on the anniversary of Operation North. A similar event was held in Moldova and is planned for Ukraine.\n","category":"analytics","date":"2021-04-03T09:37:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2021/04/3/image_hu_e53bdf7015c88af6.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2021/04/3/image_hu_68ff61bd53986104.jpg","webp":"/news/2021/04/3/image_hu_c67fa260f89c05a7.webp","webp2x":"/news/2021/04/3/image_hu_24995a40ed265cc9.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2021/04/3.html","regions":["moscow"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["1951deport","ussr","human-rights-defenders","human-right-organizations","expert-comments","deportation"],"title":"\"70th Anniversary of Operation North. Lessons of Persecution\" press conference was held in Moscow","type":"news"},{"body":"Hearings on the merits are resumed in the Abakan City Court. Nikolai Stepanovich Volkov, a candidate of philosophical sciences, a religious scholar, is being interrogated as a specialist. In response to the prosecutor's request to describe the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses, Volkov notes: \"They preach, of course, the Gospel. [...] In fact, their sermons are nothing illegal. [...] Morally, they are ordinary, deeply decent people.\"\nAt the same time, Volkov is biased about the printed publications of Jehovah's Witnesses, ironically at the fact that the illustrations depict representatives of different, including non-Slavic, peoples.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Baranovskiy in Abakan","date":"2020-12-14T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/abakan/index.html#20201214","regions":["khakassia"],"tags":["first-instance","expert-comments"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"Expert Vadim Shiller from the Center for Ethno-Confessional Research, Prevention of Extremism and Countering the Ideology of Terrorism was interrogated.\nHasan Kogut asks the expert clarifying questions, but the judge Elena Bigeza interrupts him. Analyzing the provided operational materials, Vadim Shiller notes that there are no extremist appeals and statements in them. The expert draws attention to the fact that: \"They [Jehovah's Witnesses] literally and closely adhere to the Bible.\"\n","caseTitle":"Case of Kogut in Beryozovsky","date":"2020-03-03T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/beryozovsky/index.html#20200303","regions":["kemerovo"],"tags":["first-instance","interrogation","expert-comments"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"During the interrogation of the expert religious scholar, Judge Alexander Ishchenko does not hide his negative attitude towards the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, as the following excerpt from the transcript shows:\nJudge: Jehovah's Witnesses are unwilling to obey some of the basic laws of society. They refuse to defend their homeland. Isn't this the opposition of oneself to society? Who, then, should defend the Motherland if the majority become Jehovah's Witnesses? What will happen to the country then? Isn't that a threat to our national security?\nExpert in religious studies (Sergey Ivanenko): If I were in the United States, I would think about this, because there are more than a million Jehovah's Witnesses there.\nJudge: I'm not interested in the United States, I'm interested in Russia.\nReligious Expert: The Number of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia Is Less Than in the United States...\nJudge (interrupts the specialist): Now less, and tomorrow there will be more! You yourself said that there is a tendency to increase their number! What will happen tomorrow if there are a lot of them?\nExpert Religious Scholar: You know...\nJudge (interrupts the specialist): Who will defend the Motherland? [...]\nReligious expert: In America, singing the anthem is a very important part of life. Jehovah's Witnesses show respect for those who sing the hymn, but Jehovah's Witnesses do not participate in the singing of the hymn.\nJudge: And in Russia, Jehovah's Witnesses at least sing a hymn, don't you know?\nReligious expert: They don't sing in Russia either.\nJudge: They don't sing... That is, Jehovah's Witnesses do not recognize the symbol of state power.\nReligious expert: Jehovah's Witnesses do not honor the flag, but they will not spit on it and will not burn it, this is also a fact. Jehovah's Witnesses will not do this for reasons of principle, but at the same time they respect state symbols. They will not whistle when other people sing the anthem of Russia. They have certain moral attitudes... (The judge sighs heavily, loudly.)\nThe lawyer expresses his objections to the actions of the judge. He points out that the nature of the questions that the judge asked the expert indicates the formed position on the case, the accusatory bias of the judge and the interest in a certain outcome of the case.\n","caseTitle":"Case of the Popovs in Vilyuchinsk","date":"2020-01-15T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/vilyuchinsk/index.html#20200115","regions":["kamchatka"],"tags":["first-instance","interrogation","expert-comments","courtroom"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"On September 4, 2019, in the trial of six Jehovah's Witnesses in Saratov , the floor was given to the well-known religious scholar, Doctor of Philosophy, State Counselor of the Russian Federation Sergey Igorevich Ivanenko. Here are excerpts from his testimony.\nOn the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses. \"Jehovah's Witnesses can be called a denomination, it is an independent movement in Christianity. It is not the most numerous - according to the latest data, there are about 8 and a half million Jehovah's Witnesses in the world. One of the main features of Jehovah's Witnesses is that the so-called last days have now come, that is, Jesus Christ has already reigned in heaven as a rightful ruler, and Jehovah's Witnesses must obey him as their religious leader and mentor. Therefore, they must preach, very zealously fulfill the precepts that support the Holy Scripture of Christians - the Bible, and be guided by them in their daily lives.\n\"If Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the head of their congregation is Jesus Christ, he is the Son of God, if they recognize the Bible and study the Bible, call themselves Christians, from a religious point of view, they are also a trend within Christianity.\"\nOn the religious life and practice of Jehovah's Witnesses. \"Jehovah's Witnesses have a very significant feature: they do not rely on some harsh disciplines, the authority of some leaders, but try to form a conscience trained in the Bible among their followers, so that a person can independently, voluntarily make decisions following the Bible.\"\n\"Jehovah's Witnesses try to follow what is in the Bible, which should correspond to the principles that were laid down by Jesus Christ and his disciples in the first century AD.\"\n\"If we talk about joint confession of faith, which is expressed in Bible study, answering questions on biblical topics, singing songs that are also based on biblical texts, then Jehovah's Witnesses have an emphasized desire to rely on the Bible in everything. That is, if we are talking about a religious chant, at the very beginning there is necessarily a reference to which biblical text this term is based, the lyrics of the song, what it should express from the point of view of the religious needs and beliefs of the believer.\n\"They also have the conviction that Christians must necessarily carry out their religious life on the basis of meetings. And here, too, Jehovah's Witnesses analyze the New Testament, what is said about Jesus Christ, his disciples, his followers, about the first stages of the development of the Christian church... Jehovah's Witnesses are convinced that they should also practice their religious life in religious meetings.\"\n\"They emphasize that disciples of Jesus Christ can be recognized by the fact that there will be love between them.\"\nOn the alleged ban on the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. \"I am not aware of any court decisions or legislative acts that would say that the internal structure of Jehovah's Witnesses contradicts the legislation of the Russian Federation, and would contain any prohibitions related to the doctrine or cult practice of Jehovah's Witnesses.\"\n\"It was not about banning worship services, some kind of cult actions, but it was about what from the point of view of the Supreme Court was considered as extremist activity.\"\nAccusations of extremism against Jehovah's Witnesses. \"Initially, some publications of Jehovah's Witnesses were recognized as extremist, in which, according to experts, it was claimed that the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses was the only true one, and the rest of the religions were false. This statement is present in other denominations, but in this case the claims were made against Jehovah's Witnesses. The assertion that only their religion was true and that all others were false was interpreted as propaganda of religious superiority.\n\"[The court's decision] seems to me as a religious scholar to be vulnerable from the point of view that, if desired, in any religious denomination you can find the statement that only our religion is correct, and the rest are false or largely mistaken.\"\n\"If we talk about the fact that believers consider their religion to be absolute truth, and other religions are either completely false or essentially false, this is certainly present in any believer. And it must be present, because otherwise you will be credited with a hypocrite.\n\"Jehovah's Witnesses are pacifists, they are quite consistently pursuing a line so as not to destroy social foundations. Rather, they advocate the primacy of biblical principles. God's laws are a priority for them. But to the extent that God's laws do not contradict earthly laws, Jehovah's Witnesses are very consistent and purposeful in trying to keep earthly laws. It is no coincidence that there are quite a few reports that it is Jehovah's Witnesses who return some lost wallets, pay fines and taxes, although they can evade them. This is their conscious choice, and in this sense I would not blame them for any extremist encroachments.\"\nOn the need for legal entities to profess their faith. \"The decisions of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation show that ... most of the congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses did not have a legal entity and were not registered. Therefore, it is wrong to say that any Jehovah's Witness in some territory is necessarily a member of a legal entity.\"\n\"The main content of the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses is carried out by those canonical structures that are created in accordance with biblical principles.\"\n\"As for legal entities ... I carefully studied their statutes, there are no overseers, no elders, no pioneers, none of these terms are present there. There we are usually talking about the founders - this is a limited circle of people, about 10 people. As for purely canonical activities, they reflect not the legal, but the canonical side of the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses. It is the same in different countries and in different regions.\"\n\"Jehovah's Witnesses have taken note [of the Supreme Court's decision], that is, in their activities they strive not to explicitly violate this decision of the Supreme Court. But at the same time, they will continue their activities as a religious denomination that is not prohibited by the authorities. They continued their activities as private individuals professing their religion. That is, from their point of view, from a religious point of view, this activity does not violate the decision of the Supreme Court.\"\nOn the preaching activity of Jehovah's Witnesses. \"Jehovah's Witnesses are distinguished by the fact that they are very active in preaching. I would put Jehovah's Witnesses in the first place in terms of their preaching activity, zeal, so that every believer must be a preacher and devote some time to preaching.\"\n\"They usually say this: the Bible says this, a person can take the Bible himself and check it. If a person agrees, he goes along with them. If he disputes it, he doesn't go with them. There is no compulsion. But their explanation is consistent and logical in its own way. This is the attraction for some people of their preaching. Their preaching does not work, in my opinion, for everyone. If a person is more mystical, wants some revelations from God or some supernatural spiritual powers, he will not go to Jehovah's Witnesses ... And more rational people who want to reach everything with their minds, live in accordance with this consistently, they will come to Jehovah's Witnesses.\"\nOn the attitude of Jehovah's Witnesses to the Bible. The peculiarity of Jehovah's Witnesses is that they use any translation of the Bible both for preaching and for studying. They have a keen interest in distributing the Bible in different languages. In this sense, they are bibliocentric. Their own translation was indeed recognized as extremist in our country ... Perhaps those who accepted it thought that Jehovah's Witnesses were attached exclusively to this translation and if it was excluded from the game, Jehovah's Witnesses would give up. This is a wrong judgment. For Jehovah's Witnesses, each translation of the Bible has its own value.\"\nOn the attitude of Jehovah's Witnesses to blood transfusions. \"The Bible says that 'the soul is in the blood' and therefore blood should not be consumed. We are talking about a food ban, but they interpret it broadly. They believe that blood should not be consumed in any form: neither in food (they will not eat blood sausage), nor [in the form of] blood transfusions. But they agree to the use of small fractions of blood - this is the voluntary choice of the believer ... They are not for dying by refusing a blood transfusion, but for good treatment so that a person receives first-class medical care. The blood transfusion itself, from their point of view and from the point of view of many medical aspects, is dangerous, because you can get AIDS and something else. Bloodless surgery provides more guarantees, and often in reality – I looked at the statistics – wealthy people often prefer to do without blood transfusions, because it guarantees greater safety in terms of freedom from infections and complications.\nAbout the collection of donations by Jehovah's Witnesses. \"A person may not make any donations. He can, roughly speaking, go to meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses all his life and not donate a ruble or a dollar. But he can also sacrifice - that's his choice.\nDespite strong expert arguments that Jehovah's Witnesses are ordinary Christians and not criminals, all six defendants in the Saratov case were found guilty for their faith and sentenced to various prison terms. Persecution of hundreds of their fellow believers across the country continues.\nSergey Ivanenko is the author of two scientific papers on Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. They can be found in the section \"Religious Studies\".\n","category":"rights","date":"2019-09-24T16:05:29+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2019/09/1155/ivanenko-01_hu_ccd7bda83d3d10ca.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2019/09/1155/ivanenko-01.jpg","webp":"/news/2019/09/1155/ivanenko-01_hu_d578c036ca8a6a83.webp","webp2x":"/news/2019/09/1155/ivanenko-01_hu_1d4f29c069e489ac.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2019/09/1155.html","regions":["saratov"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["Bible-ban","translations","expert-comments","review","liquidation","fsem","analytics"],"title":"The well-known religious scholar Sergey Ivanenko spoke in the trial of Jehovah's Witnesses. What did he say?","type":"news"},{"body":"The court examines a book and film published by Jehovah's Witnesses, lawyers give explanations about the persecution of Witnesses in Germany and the USSR. Biblical commentaries from other publications on the need to respect authority and others are also considered. The court fully or partially satisfies all requests of lawyers to attach medical documents, personal characteristics, certificates, letters of thanks, diplomas of the defendants to the case.\nDoctor of Philosophy, religious scholar Sergey Ivanenko speaks at the trial. Explains that Jehovah's Witnesses are an internationally recognized Christian denomination whose members strive to live according to the biblical commandments. Explains the features of the internal structure. Affirms that believers do not need to belong to legal entities.\nThe next hearing on the merits of the case is scheduled for September 11.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Bazhenov and Others in Saratov","date":"2019-09-04T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/saratov/index.html#20190904","regions":["saratov"],"tags":["first-instance","expert-comments"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"A specialist in the field of religious studies was questioned at the hearing. He explains the difference between canonical (spiritual) and secular structures. Indicates that acceptance of the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses does not require affiliation with any legal entity, but is solely an act of a religious nature. The practice of religion in a given denomination is not made dependent on affiliation with any registered organization, but is considered as a personal right to choose religion.\nThe defense is interrogating Sergey Klimov's wife, Yulia. They have been married for 30 years. Through joint Bible study, their marriage is strong and happy. According to her, Sergey is a very kind person and has nothing to do with extremism.\n","caseTitle":"The Case of Klimov in Tomsk","date":"2019-08-16T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/tomsk/index.html#20190816","regions":["tomsk"],"tags":["first-instance","interrogation","expert-comments"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"On February 7, 2019, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a statement calling on Russia to drop all charges against Jehovah's Witnesses.\n\"Christensen's harsh sentence sets a dangerous precedent, criminalizing the right to freedom of religion of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia ... We urge the Government of Russia to revise the Law on Countering Extremist Activity in order to clarify the vague and open-ended definition of extremist activity and to ensure that the definition requires an element of violence and hostility. We also call on the authorities to drop charges against and release all those detained for exercising their rights to freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, and the right to peaceful assembly and association.\"\nPreviously, the problem was pointed out by various UN agencies, including the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which called on Russia to abolish the List of Extremist Materials.\n","category":"rights","date":"2019-02-13T21:00:22+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2019/02/613/image1170x530cropped_hu_2cdaf187f8dd0875.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2019/02/613/image1170x530cropped.jpg","webp":"/news/2019/02/613/image1170x530cropped_hu_183c361fbe336aad.webp","webp2x":"/news/2019/02/613/image1170x530cropped_hu_136448f2e1471a1.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2019/02/613.html","regions":["usa"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["analytics","expert-conclusions","expert-comments","international"],"title":"UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the sentencing of Dennis Christensen","type":"news"},{"body":"On September 26, 2018, Christina Arriaga, vice chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), announced the inclusion of Dennis Christensen, who has been in a Russian prison for almost a year and a half for his faith, on the organization's list of \"Religious Prisoners of Conscience.\" The list is intended to focus the Commission's work on the release of specific prisoners and to draw attention to their plight and the general state of religious freedom in their countries.\nThe Commission's official press release states: \"Dennis Christensen was arrested in Oryol on 25 May 2017 following an attack on a prayer service in which he was participating. As of September 13, 2018, Christensen has appeared 38 times before the Oryol District Court. He faces up to 10 years in prison. [...] In April 2017, Russia's Supreme Court declared Jehovah's Witnesses an extremist organization and banned its activities.\"\n\"However, these religious groups only seek to practice their views peacefully and without fear,\" the press release also says.- At the time of his arrest, Dennis was reading the Bible with his fellow believers. The international community must uphold internationally recognized human rights and press for the release of... Dennis and many other citizens imprisoned in Russia for their religious beliefs and activities.\"\nIn 2018, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom listed Russia as a \"Country of Particular Concern.\" According to the Commission's regulations, these are countries whose governments commit systematic, persistent and egregious violations of religious freedom.\n","category":"rights","date":"2018-09-27T18:06:47+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2018/09/481/kristensen_web5841_hu_89399db99162b020.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2018/09/481/kristensen_web5841.jpg","webp":"/news/2018/09/481/kristensen_web5841_hu_4c340c6a3c58a4b1.webp","webp2x":"/news/2018/09/481/kristensen_web5841_hu_239236ac8c8c739d.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2018/09/481.html","regions":["oryol","usa"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["human-rights-defenders","analytics","expert-comments","expert-conclusions","international"],"title":"USCIRF Recognizes One of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia as a Prisoner of Conscience","type":"news"},{"body":"On May 3, 2018, the St. Petersburg City Court ruled: \"The decision of the Sestroretsky District Court of December 7, 2017 to leave unchanged, the appeal is dismissed.\" With this decision, the city court of St. Petersburg legalized the seizure of foreign property located in the village of Solnechnoye near St. Petersburg. The seizure of such a large and expensive property was a direct consequence of the decision of the Supreme Court of Russia to liquidate and ban the activities of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.\n\"We did not observe any adversarial proceedings in the process at all,\" Yaroslav Sivulsky of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses shared his impressions of the trial, \"The judges did not ask any questions, did not specify any circumstances in the case. They simply listened to the arguments of the defense, there was no debate of the parties. They retired to a five-minute meeting and returned with a ready-made solution. That is, in five minutes, the property worth two billion rubles was transferred to the state. It was noticeable that the judge knows the decision in advance and conducts the process along this path.\nArtur Leontiev, a lawyer who represented the Pennsylvania Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in court, had a similar feeling: \"A number of signs allow us to make such an assumption, because back in 2016, somehow there was an entry in Rosreestr that this complex is planned to be withdrawn for state or municipal needs. Interestingly, even before the start of this process, information appeared in the media that one of the state institutions had already submitted an application for this complex to be transferred to them. that the decision had already been made in advance.\"\nArtur Leontiev adds: \"This decision in itself, it has nothing to do, strictly speaking, to the law, because, in general, the institution of protecting private property rights, it is completely trampled. As a matter of fact, no one today can feel protected, even if he diligently complies with the law, all the requirements of the authorities. And it turns out that if the attitude towards it changes for some reason on the part of the authorities, then you can always come up with something, in some interesting way interpret the norms of the law and also the facts, and come to the conclusion that is needed at a given time.\nRichard Devine, vice president of the Watch Tower Society, who testified in court, says: \"I think any unbiased person would agree that the real estate in Solnechnoye belongs to us legally and that this property was, in fact, stolen by the Russian authorities. The decision was predictable, so we are not discouraged. We are pleased that we were able to prepare a solid basis for applying to the European Court of Human Rights.\"\nBelievers have mixed feelings. Here is how Yaroslav Sivulsky expressed them: \"We look positively even at what has happened now, in the context of the fact that by doing so we understand that we are on the right path, since Jesus said that I was persecuted, and you will be persecuted, I was hated, and you will be hated. There was no reason to hate Jesus, no reason to hate and persecute Jehovah's Witnesses. And we are confident that in due time God will restore justice to all his faithful servants.\"\n","category":"overview","date":"2018-05-15T23:52:40+03:00","duration":"3:31","image":{"jpg":"/news/2018/05/315/appeal_property_hu_95141af4b49beaed.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2018/05/315/appeal_property.jpg","webp":"/news/2018/05/315/appeal_property_hu_2a7e28cf0ae8b8ff.webp","webp2x":"/news/2018/05/315/appeal_property_hu_1c4ce7bc4c1ba564.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2018/05/315.html","regions":["stpetersburg"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["appeal","buildings-seizure","belongings-arrest","expert-comments"],"title":"Results of the real estate court in Solnechnoye","type":"video"},{"body":"\"The books of the Bible are written in different languages. There are a lot of options: canonical, non-canonical. The question of the canonicity of the text, most likely, should not, after all, be considered by a secular court.\nBut in any case, without going into casuistry, we already know that there are many translations of the Bible. These translations are different and will be different, just as the translations of any book are always different. Therefore, to say that it is in these differences ... I just can't imagine what the prosecutor will prove in court. That he will find any differences between the translation adopted by Jehovah's Witnesses and the translation of the Synodal and will prove that these differences are extremist? That would be the only logical way, so to speak, but I'm afraid you can't prove anything that way. Although we know how these processes are going on in our country. Often very rapidly, I would say.\nTherefore, unfortunately, it cannot be ruled out that the prosecutor's office will also benefit here. But, in general, this is still a very big scandal, so maybe someone, after all, will give up and this will not happen. If, however, the prosecutor's office wins, then there will, of course, be problems for Jehovah's Witnesses. But, problems can arise in other people too. And not because they accidentally got the Bible in the wrong translation. They may not have even noticed. After all, not everyone understands it that way. But simply because it opens up prospects for the most unexpected bans further. This, in general, depends on the imagination, to a large extent. Therefore, it would be better, of course, for the state not to embark on this slippery slope, because it is completely incomprehensible where it will lead.\nAlexander Verkhovsky, Director of the SOVA Information and Analytical Center, member of the Presidential Council for Human Rights. ","category":"opinion","date":"2017-12-05T14:23:37+03:00","duration":"1:45","image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/12/269/verkhovsky_image_hu_549f9e29652a202f.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/12/269/verkhovsky_image.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/12/269/verkhovsky_image_hu_2056bb17b6c99535.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/12/269/verkhovsky_image_hu_c918b8d7d9a2f47b.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/12/269.html","regions":[],"subtitle":null,"tags":["Bible-ban","expert-comments","bible-ban"],"title":"Alexander Verkhovsky: \"It would be better for the state not to embark on this slippery slope\"","type":"video"},{"body":"\"I am an employee of the Institute of Oriental Studies, I teach ancient languages, including some biblical disciplines. Participated in the Bible translation project.\nI am not very familiar with this translation, but I have some complaints, purely linguistic, historical and cultural. Everyone has the right, if he is competent enough to do so, to translate and interpret the biblical text. At the same time, others have the right to criticize him.\nOne perfect translation would be good, but it is impossible, because there is no perfection in the world. And when there are several alternative translations on which you can say something like that, then this is an absolute blessing. The translation of 70 interpreters, judging by the original source, was done in this way. They translated everything, and then they got together and consulted.\nEvgenia Smagina, Head of the Department of History and Culture of the Ancient East of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, translator of the Bible.\n","category":"opinion","date":"2017-12-04T12:16:14+03:00","duration":"1:00","image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/12/267/smagina_image_hu_a581b5f155688434.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/12/267/smagina_image.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/12/267/smagina_image_hu_c0598b228c555258.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/12/267/smagina_image_hu_30a115e88e0246a8.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/12/267.html","regions":[],"subtitle":null,"tags":["Bible-ban","expert-comments","bible-ban","translations"],"title":"Evgenia Smagina: \"Several alternative translations are an absolute blessing\"","type":"video"},{"body":"\"I have an idea about both the translation and the trial. As for the translation, it is one of the translations of the Bible, and it has supporters and those who criticize some particular points. This is natural. There is not a single perfect translation. And I believe that many translations of the Bible are needed. Different approaches are needed. And in this sense, the New World Translation occupies its own, I would say, legitimate niche. Moreover, there are some interesting finds, so to speak. As for this trial, the situation when it is said that this is extremism and that it is supposedly not the Bible, I want to emphasize once again: in the academic environment, one can criticize the New World Translation in the same way as the Synodal Translation. And, by the way, there is still a big question: if we compare with the Hebrew and Greek originals, then in some parts there may be a Synodal translation more precisely, in others - the New World Translation, and so on. But this is a translation of the Bible. Any attempt to claim that this is some other book is simply ignorant. Every person who picks up this translation sees that it is a translation of the Bible. You see, you can argue about some terms, about what the instrument of execution of Jesus Christ looked like. But, sorry, it's up to the professionals. And when they try to tell us that the \"cross\" is normal, and the \"pillar\" is extremism, it would be funny when it was not so sad! I would say so. Because we are talking, of course, about an attempt to ban the Bible.\nIt may seem that I speak harshly of the Synodal translation. It's not that. He played a huge historical positive role, but, sorry, it's been 150-160 years.\nThere is no reference translation. And I think that it will not be. You see, there must be different translations. Just as there is no normative translation of anything - the tragedies of Shakespeare or the poetry of Byron. In each generation, new translators come and are taken again. And such a book as the Bible ... Naturally, more and more translations will be needed.\"\nNikolay Shaburov, PhD in Cultural Studies, Professor, Head of the Educational and Research Center for the Study of Religions of the Russian State University for the Humanities.\n","category":"opinion","date":"2017-12-02T12:25:08+03:00","duration":"3:35","image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/12/266/shaburov_image_hu_6b29c972fa3ab94e.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/12/266/shaburov_image.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/12/266/shaburov_image_hu_590404133deb2664.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/12/266/shaburov_image_hu_ef9252b8a4c459a6.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/12/266.html","regions":[],"subtitle":null,"tags":["Bible-ban","expert-comments","bible-ban"],"title":"Nikolay Shaburov: \"This is a translation of the Bible. Attempts to assert otherwise are simply ignorant.\"","type":"video"},{"body":"\"Some strange philological examination was made, which began with the words that this is the text of the translation of the Bible, and ended with the fact that it is not the Bible. Appealing to the fact that it is not written there, that it was published with the blessing of the patriarch.\nThere are a huge number of translations of the Bible and, regardless of the quality and number of these translations, they are all translations of the Bible. As we all know, none of these sacred texts are written in Russian language. All of them are presented in the Russian Federation to believers in one translation or another.\nWhat does it mean that a translation can be considered extremist? The text itself can be recognized as extremist, while the translation is secondary to the text. That is, by recognizing a translation as extremist, we essentially recognize the text itself as extremist. And then any translation of it, into any language, will also be extremist.\nSuch trials of holy books can destabilize the religious situation in the country. Naturally, such a treatment of the Holy Book looks, of course, rather strange, and it can hardly please a believer of any religious direction.\nWhen the ban on the Qur'an in Guliyev's translation was issued, we, probably three years ago, argued, I remember, with colleagues on this topic, and one of them, maybe even me, said: well: will the Bible be next? Unfortunately, our foresight came true.\"\nEkaterina Elbakyan, Doctor of Philosophy, religious scholar, executive secretary of the editorial board of the scientific and theoretical journal \"Religious Studies\".\n","category":"opinion","date":"2017-12-01T12:33:57+03:00","duration":"1:47","image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/12/265/elbakyan_image_0_hu_66a853014cc5a205.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/12/265/elbakyan_image_0.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/12/265/elbakyan_image_0_hu_61e2e1c6b2e515fb.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/12/265/elbakyan_image_0_hu_7102a9ceb5ad7d60.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/12/265.html","regions":[],"subtitle":null,"tags":["Bible-ban","expert-comments","bible-ban"],"title":"Ekaterina Elbakyan: \"By recognizing the translation as extremist, we recognize the text itself as extremist\"","type":"video"},{"body":"\"I have been engaged in one way or another in the practice and theory of Bible translation for the past 24 years. These works were carried out at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. I have a lot of questions about the New World Translation, and I have spoken and written about this more than once. I consider it unfortunate. But I believe that this question should be decided among themselves by colleagues - orientalists, philologists, and that it has nothing to do with the prosecutor's office, the court and everything else. Here at the Institute of Oriental Studies, behind my back, they study, translate, study the Bible, the Koran, and traditional texts of Buddhism. Then it turns out that at any moment any of our texts, translations, any of our studies can be declared extremist simply because it does not coincide with someone's understanding of these texts. Therefore, for me it is categorically unacceptable. This is a question for professionals and for readers who can choose what to read. But to impose on them a certain unified interpretation as universally binding, in the end, is against the Constitution of Russia, where no religion can be considered a state religion.\nAndrey Desnitsky, Doctor of Philology, Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Bible translator, biblical scholar.\n","category":"opinion","date":"2017-11-30T20:57:38+03:00","duration":"1:05","image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/11/264/vlcsnap-error9452594_hu_185365f58694513c.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/11/264/vlcsnap-error9452594.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/11/264/vlcsnap-error9452594_hu_18e32c1c4f85e238.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/11/264/vlcsnap-error9452594_hu_afc18058868c4966.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/11/264.html","regions":[],"subtitle":null,"tags":["Bible-ban","expert-comments","bible-ban"],"title":"Andriy Desnitsky: \"This is a matter for professionals and readers, not for the prosecutor's office and the court\" ","type":"video"},{"body":"On August 9, 2017, in the Vyborg City Court, the hearing on the Bible ban lasted 11 hours! The case is being heard by Judge Dmitry Grishin.\nThe process attracted many observers, including journalists and foreign diplomats. The hall could accommodate only a small part of those who came, but the judge allowed the door to the auditorium to be left open, so that the listeners, standing in the corridor, could follow the process. The organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses of Germany (publisher and producer of the Bible), the United States of America (the owner of the copyright in the translation) and Finland (the carrier from whom the shipment of Bibles was seized) participate as interested parties.\nSince we are talking about such a respected and culture-forming book as the Bible, an authoritative scientist in the field of text examination was invited to participate in the case as a specialist - Anatoly Nikolaevich Baranov, Doctor of Philology, Professor, Head of the Department of Experimental Lexicography of the Institute of the Russian Language of the Russian Academy of Sciences, author of the textbook \"Linguistic Examination of the Text\". For almost 2 hours, the scientist answered questions from the parties and the court. Among other things, he explained to the court the nuances associated with the translation. For example, what is meant by the term \"Bible\"? Can its Russian translation be considered a \"Bible\"? Is it possible to establish the identity of a translation by comparing it with another translation? Although the answers to these questions seem self-evident, they are very important for establishing all the facts in this case, given that in Russia the Bible has a special immunity from anti-extremist legislation.\nThe hearing is scheduled to continue at 9:30 a.m. on August 16, 2017. The court is scheduled to interview a religious scholar.\n","category":"literature","date":"2017-08-10T16:26:12+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/08/202/img_62622369_0_hu_95ad45ddce94f4a2.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/08/202/img_62622369_0.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/08/202/img_62622369_0_hu_11447cc39a76dc39.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/08/202/img_62622369_0_hu_5826a542edf3e2b5.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/08/202.html","regions":["leningrad_obl"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["Bible-ban","bible-ban","expert-comments"],"title":"A lexicologist was questioned in the Vyborg court in the case of banning the Bible","type":"news"},{"body":"\"Jehovah's Witnesses in France are citizens like everyone else. There is no reason to think otherwise. Some of their beliefs are unique to them. But these beliefs do not contradict the values of the French Republic and do not conflict with the teachings of other religions that exist in France. I would like to emphasize that France has always been a multi-confessional country, and even more so today. We are a secular state, and it is not always easy for foreign countries to understand this. That is, we proceed from the fact that everyone is free to believe what he wants, and the state does not interfere in religious matters. Therefore, we can coexist peacefully. The government does not impose its ideology, and religions, in turn, do not dominate each other. That is why, I think and hope, Jehovah's Witnesses can practice their faith in an acceptable way without disturbing public order. But so far they have never been seen in such violations.\nI believe that a democratic society should clearly define what it means to violate public order, to harm the common interest. A democratic country can blame and condemn someone in clear terms. Extremism is an obscure concept. Each of us will always be an \"extremist\" for someone. There is political diversity in France, and views can range from the extreme left to the extreme right. Does this mean that people who hold opposing views are extremists who violate public order? Absolutely not. Public order is violated by someone who causes damage to property or people, for example, in public places. We all know what it looks like. But the concept of \"extremism\" does not make any sense to me if it does not include specific actions that can be qualified as extremism. For this reason, if they try to bring Jehovah's Witnesses under this law, then the concept of \"extremism\" is not applicable in this case. Perhaps the law on extremism is a way to convey to religious groups, whether Jehovah's Witnesses or someone else, that they must obey this law without clarifying concepts and any clarifications. In this case, in practice, this means that the fight is not against extremism, but against religion itself. Consequently, the principle underlying international human rights instruments — the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms — is violated. Both documents contain an article that clearly defines freedom of conscience and religion. According to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, freedom of conscience and religion is unconditional. The European Convention on Human Rights states that such freedom may be restricted if public order is affected. A Russian judge should take into account that if the fact of violation of public order is not proven, then Jehovah's Witnesses are persecuted for completely different reasons - they are persecuted as a religion. In this case, we ignore the fundamental freedom enshrined in the most important international laws. I would like you to persuade the Supreme Court, which is obliged to decide on the case, to carefully weigh two conditions: on the one hand, the fact of violation of public order, and on the other hand, freedom of religion is a fundamental right that cannot be taken away without serious consequences.\nJean-Marie Delarue, member of the French Council of State, former director of civil liberties at the French Ministry of the Interior.\n","category":"opinion","date":"2017-04-18T13:43:09+03:00","duration":"4:37","image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/04/145/photo_delarue_0_hu_6a802309b3f4b75c.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/04/145/photo_delarue_0.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/04/145/photo_delarue_0_hu_e6293b4cc25e6916.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/04/145/photo_delarue_0_hu_ecf11ceed2c8b349.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/04/145.html","regions":["eu"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["video","international-community","human-rights-defenders","expert-comments","eu"],"title":"Jean-Marie Delarue: \"In practice, this means that the fight is not against extremism, but against religion itself\"","type":"video"},{"body":"\"First of all, I must say that I do not belong to Jehovah's Witnesses, so I do not know the details of their doctrine. But on duty, I had the opportunity to work and get to know some of their responsible persons in Spain. We have a great relationship. My impression of the Witnesses is that they are very kind people who never create difficulties in cooperation.\nThe only \"extremist activity\" I have seen from Jehovah's Witnesses is their extreme kindness and politeness. In Spain, their legal status was established many years ago, they are recognized as a well-known religion. This gave them great legal powers. For example, now they have the right to register marriages. In other words, the state has a lot of trust in this religious group. And, of course, as far as I know, in our country there have never been any occasions for lawsuits, complaints or accusations against this group because of any of its activities that could be considered extremist or illegal.\n[Russia should take into account] the norms of international law, as well as the rulings of courts, primarily the European Court of Human Rights in cases of freedom of religion, including Jehovah's Witnesses, especially in Russia. For example, the rulings in the case of Kuznetsov in 2007 and Krupko in 2014, as well as in the case of 2010 on the illegal denial of the right of Moscow Jehovah's Witnesses to have a registered community. In its decision, the European Court emphasized at least two principles that should serve as a guide when deciding in such cases imposing a ban on religious activity.\nFirst of all, the state must be neutral and impartial in relation to religious beliefs. And secondly, and most importantly, citizens as a group professing their faith in community with others must be guaranteed that the State will not illegally and arbitrarily interfere with their activities. In other words, the right to separate the state from religion, that is, from views or their expression. This implies autonomy for religious associations, freedom from interference by the state in internal organization and activities.\nI think that the reaction should be the same as we are already seeing in some forums. A statement was issued by the International Helsinki Group, an organization affiliated with the OSCE, which considers the application of anti-extremist legislation (and it was not intended to apply to religious organizations as such) as arbitrary. The dangers associated with the overly broad application of this law may lead to the fact that it will be applied to any creed that for some reason is considered extremist. In fact, in 2010, when the European Court of Human Rights expressed its opinion in the case of the Moscow Jehovah's Witnesses community, it had already considered the arguments that led to the ban of this organization to be arbitrary and baseless. And now they again intend to go beyond the law, to misuse the law. Therefore, international organizations and democratic states must respond to protect the right to freedom of religion of all citizens, in this case, citizens of Russia.\"\nMercedes Murillo Muñoz is a professor of ecclesiastical law at the University of King Juan Carlos (Spain).\n","category":"opinion","date":"2017-04-18T13:36:58+03:00","duration":"5:17","image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/04/144/photo_mercedes_murillo_hu_9c2a9241628e3.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/04/144/photo_mercedes_murillo.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/04/144/photo_mercedes_murillo_hu_dbcffafed24b90b8.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/04/144/photo_mercedes_murillo_hu_8dc402127078e71e.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/04/144.html","regions":["eu"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["eu","expert-comments","human-rights-defenders","international-community","video"],"title":"Mercedes Murillo Muñoz: \"Our state has a lot of confidence in this religious group\"","type":"video"},{"body":"\"In Spain, they [Jehovah's Witnesses] have been registered in the Register of Religious Organizations of the Ministry of Justice since 1970.\nFrom that day until now, this denomination encourages its members to live in harmony with their faith and views, which include obedience to the law, respect for the rights of others and cooperation with the authorities. Therefore, I do not consider them dangerous in any way. In fact, it's quite the opposite.\nFrom my professional point of view, they exercise their rights, or try to do it without going beyond the legal framework, and go to the courts when they believe that their rights have been violated.\nReligious freedom is a part of social well-being, the right of citizens, one and all, to adhere to certain religious views, to hold worship services, to profess or not to profess a particular religion. I believe that the peaceful exercise of this right actively and passively contributes to the social well-being of citizens and society as a whole. Thus, restricting religious freedom will have a negative impact on a society that thrives only when everyone's rights are respected.\nI believe that this is unacceptable, because the activities of this denomination in our country over the past more than 40 years have not led to anything that could be called extremism. The activities of this denomination, as well as others, are carried out by believers who, professing their religion, are guided by a personal conscience. By trying to share their faith with others, they remain within the framework of religious freedom.\nIn our country, they have never participated in activities that can be described as extremist, and their religious views have nothing to do with extremism — if by this term we mean propaganda of violence and enmity. On the contrary, Jehovah's Witnesses preach peace, and above all they apply their teachings in their lives. They try to exercise their legal rights, respecting the legitimate rights of others, peacefully and never resorting to violence.\"\nConsuelo Madrigal, lawyer, teacher, until 2016 Attorney General of Spain.\n","category":"opinion","date":"2017-04-17T21:33:08+03:00","duration":"2:34","image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/04/143/photo_consuelo_madrigal_hu_cc18f6e94f11dfdb.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/04/143/photo_consuelo_madrigal.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/04/143/photo_consuelo_madrigal_hu_16da032b8507335a.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/04/143/photo_consuelo_madrigal_hu_c3ca82bf2fe19138.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/04/143.html","regions":["eu"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["eu","international-community","expert-comments","human-rights-defenders","video"],"title":"Consuelo Madrigal: \"I don't consider Jehovah's Witnesses dangerous in any way\"","type":"video"},{"body":"\"I have experience with Jehovah's Witnesses, and quite extensive. I know them as gentle people and very convinced in their views, but this does not distinguish them from many others.\nTo call extremism the idea that your religion is true and someone else's false, or to call it terrorism, is, frankly, absurd. I can't imagine that at least some country agreed with this. I fully share the conviction that the Russian government is behaving in this situation in an extreme way.\nThere is nothing in the case evidence that I have read, on which the charges against Jehovah's Witnesses are based, that would in any way support the accusations of extremism.\nRecognizing Jehovah's Witnesses as extremists will do nothing to help Russia consolidate its reputation as a civilized country. Any decision against Jehovah's Witnesses will affect others. It will be a red flag for everyone - if you disagree with the Russian authorities, you are at risk. This is a direct signal: you need to do what you are told, you need to refrain from expressing your views and not have beliefs that are at odds with the state ideology. This application of the law forms an image of religious freedom in Russia as extremely negative: \"You can believe in anything, as long as you believe in what I tell you.\"\nIn my opinion, this is a shocking example of how a bad law is being used for an even worse purpose.\nOf course, Jehovah's Witnesses can appeal to the Strasbourg Court. This, of course, will take time and a lot. But such draconian, extraordinary measures, as well as the irreparable consequences of confiscation of property, should prompt the Strasbourg Court to maintain their status quo until the case is heard. Of course, it will be a very difficult time, and they will be persecuted even more than before.\nHaving worked with them, I find the idea that Jehovah's Witnesses are extremists or dangerous to society to be extremely strange. Perhaps someone is irritated by them. But irritation is not a reason to close them or deprive them of their rights.\nRichard Clayton, Queen's Counsel, UK Representative to the Venice Commission.\n","category":"opinion","date":"2017-03-31T11:02:58+03:00","duration":"2:55","image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/03/123/photo_clayton_hu_d3de5570ba49f98.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/03/123/photo_clayton.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/03/123/photo_clayton_hu_4518e956a91f1f29.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/03/123/photo_clayton_hu_f474dfd206a3c6aa.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/03/123.html","regions":["eu"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["eu","international-community","human-rights-defenders","expert-comments","video"],"title":"Richard Clayton: \"A shocking example of how a bad law is being used for an even worse purpose\"","type":"video"},{"body":"\"I worked closely with Russia, which is an active member of the OSCE and which has done a lot in the interests of persecuted Christians around the world. Therefore, it seems to me somewhat paradoxical that the problems of religious freedom now exist within Russia itself. As I understand it, the law used against Jehovah's Witnesses is the law on countering extremism. And it is quite understandable that Russia is concerned about problems related to extremism because of its geopolitical position and the fight against terrorism. However, religious freedom is a fragile concept and the definition of extremism can easily be turned against groups that are not particularly popular, and it is usually a test of the quality of religious freedom in a country.\nI have been studying Jehovah's Witnesses for 40 years, and it is especially important that they are a \"peaceful community,\" to put it formally in the terminology of historians and sociologists. They are peaceful people who reject violence and have never used violence themselves. The only connection between Jehovah's Witnesses and violence is that they are victims of violence. The Nazi regime murdered more than 2,000 Jehovah's Witnesses. Here is a well-known fact that testifies to their peacefulness: when Jehovah's Witnesses were in concentration camps, they were the only prisoners whom the Nazis allowed to visit as barbers, because only they could be trusted with a dangerous razor, confident that they would not use the blade against Nazi guards. As can be seen, Jehovah's Witnesses are a supremely peaceful community.\nAnd now, as far as I know, they are sometimes accused of extremism under Russian law, because their publications claim that they are the only true religion. But there are two observations in this regard. First, a certain emphatic style of writing is characteristic of religious literature in general. This can be found in the Holy Quran of Muslims, and in the Old Testament in the Bible. Second, Jehovah's Witnesses are not in favor of being treated better by states or governments than by members of any other religion.\nTherefore, I believe that declaring Jehovah's Witnesses extremists is based on a misinterpretation of what is the typical literary style of their publications. Banning and discriminating against Jehovah's Witnesses in any way would be a mistake and a danger to the religious freedom of many other groups. This would tarnish the image of Russia, both as a government and as a country, which does a lot in an international forum, advocating for religious freedom for persecuted Christians in many countries of the world.\nDr. Massimo Introvigne, Founding Director of the International Centre for the Study of New Religions (Italy), has served as OSCE Commissioner for Combating Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination since 2011. ","category":"opinion","date":"2017-03-30T17:06:47+03:00","duration":"3:39","image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/03/122/photo_introvigne_hu_eba3e5243957c140.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/03/122/photo_introvigne.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/03/122/photo_introvigne_hu_7ed8f745b039233.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/03/122/photo_introvigne_hu_a5634848975d3499.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/03/122.html","regions":["eu"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["eu","international-community","expert-comments","human-rights-defenders","video"],"title":"Massimo Introvigne: \"The only connection between Jehovah's Witnesses and violence is that they are victims of violence\"","type":"video"},{"body":"\"During the years when I served as UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, I often came into contact with Jehovah's Witnesses in different countries during fact-finding missions, because Jehovah's Witnesses are one of the communities that is most threatened, while society as a whole ignores their situation. Therefore, it is especially important that we learn about the tragedy that is now unfolding there.\nIf we talk about legislation on extremism, everyone agrees that it is important to fight extremist tendencies, but the concept of \"extremism\" remains completely blurred. Which creates a kind of access for the authorities, a loophole, an excuse to do what they want. And Jehovah's Witnesses are the perfect scapegoat.\nAfter all, many people regard them with suspicion: Jehovah's Witnesses are active, engaged in missionary work. Not everyone likes it — even if they do it exclusively for peaceful purposes — but they exercise their right to freedom of religion and belief.\nIf Jehovah's Witnesses are extremists, then we are all extremists.\nThis is an example of legislation so vague that it gives the authorities carte blanche to prosecute anyone.\nAll this creates an atmosphere of fear, threat, and, of course, contradicts the letter and spirit of human rights. So the people of Russia and the entire international community should pay close attention to what is happening there.\nThis affects all Russians, because the more space is taken away from minorities, the more democracy itself is at risk.\nEither we have a space where freedom of religion or belief can be exercised without imposition, intimidation and absurd threats in the name of fighting extremism, or this space will shrink more and more. And we have already seen this in many countries. If the state makes a religious community a target, a scapegoat, it reduces the scope for all. Therefore, it is in the interest of all religious communities to have space for the free expression of their faith. Including the majority, because the freedom to talk about one's faith is freedom of religion. At the end of the day, it serves the interests of the majority, even if they don't understand it.\"\nDr. Heiner Bielefeldt, Professor at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. Since 2010, he has served as UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.\n","category":"opinion","date":"2017-03-30T14:42:42+03:00","duration":"2:58","image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/03/121/photo_bielefeldt_hu_8d136ed69f111c3b.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/03/121/photo_bielefeldt.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/03/121/photo_bielefeldt_hu_779475c7a815a7f7.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/03/121/photo_bielefeldt_hu_cd700229e6e9aa41.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/03/121.html","regions":["eu"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["eu","international-community","expert-comments","human-rights-defenders","video"],"title":"Heiner Bielefeldt: \"If Jehovah's Witnesses are extremists, then we are all extremists\"","type":"video"},{"body":"\"I believe that this lawsuit, of course, violates the fundamental principles of freedom of conscience, since Jehovah's Witnesses can hardly be called an extremist organization. Jehovah's Witnesses have not been seen in any terrorist attacks or malicious intentions. The Witnesses do not call for any military action, terrorist organizations, or disobedience.\nThey try to accuse witnesses of not donating blood. But there are a lot of Orthodox groups, or Muslim, or Jewish, especially those who treat blood with care in the same way, considering it a sacred carrier of the soul, for example. So you can go far.\nI think, of course, that the Witnesses are persecuted for only one reason - that they, working on the principle of \"from person to person\", are a serious competitor to the Russian Orthodox Church in a number of regions. And I believe that Jehovah's Witnesses, as an organization that originated in Russia in the nineteenth century, are, if not traditional, then at least primordially Russian organizations. Its U.S. branch, Watchtower, cannot determine the faces of this organization, just as the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia cannot determine the faces of Russian Orthodoxy.\nJehovah's Witnesses sat in Stalin's camps, in Nazi camps and, in general, firmly and strongly professed their faith. Those who have personally encountered the Witnesses in their personal lives, when it was not about religious matters, but simply about human relations, know that, as a rule, they are very decent, honest people who do not steal, do not drink, who can be trusted.\nIf it is possible to ban an organization whose members make up hundreds of thousands of people in this way, then it is possible to repress other religious or social ideological groups quite easily. I believe that this is arbitrariness, and it is impossible to agree with this arbitrariness. And it is necessary to protect the rights of citizens of the Russian Federation who are members of this religious organization in a legal way.\nAnd modern persecution seems to me simply absurd. I do not understand what their relevance is even for those who initiate them. Just tick the box, or what? That we will strangle those who have been strangled? It seems to me that this is an extremely unpleasant manner of the Russian law enforcement agencies and the legal system. Here, obviously, there is the hand of influential public organizations, the Moscow Patriarchate and high officials sympathetic to it in the special services, who believe that by banning the Witnesses, they are fulfilling some kind of alleged duty to Russian Orthodoxy.\nTherefore, to be honest, I consider the ban unconstitutional, violating the fundamental principles of freedom of conscience and the very essence of the law on extremist activity.\"\nMaxim Shevchenko, President of the Center for Strategic Studies of Religions and Politics of the Modern World, member of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights.\n","category":"opinion","date":"2017-03-29T16:06:59+03:00","duration":"3:20","image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/03/118/photo_shevchenko_hu_45ce4951d00746f8.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/03/118/photo_shevchenko.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/03/118/photo_shevchenko_hu_5c50837dd70338bb.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/03/118/photo_shevchenko_hu_20bac465689863c6.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/03/118.html","regions":[],"subtitle":null,"tags":["expert-comments","administrative-center","mro"],"title":"Maksym Shevchenko: \"This lawsuit violates the fundamental principles of freedom of conscience\"","type":"video"},{"body":"\"I have been researching Jehovah's Witnesses for many years. I visited Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, in the USA, in England, in Copenhagen, in Denmark. I have talked with many of Jehovah's Witnesses. They are a religious minority, but a minority that coexists peacefully with the rest of society. They go to the same schools, work in regular jobs. They do not separate themselves from society, but adapt to it.\nThe law on extremism is rather vague, it was created with the specific purpose of preventing incitement to violence and hatred on racial or religious grounds. But the law does not say what types of actions are extremist.\nJehovah's Witnesses are a Christian organization, and Christianity by its nature claims to be exclusive. This means that Christian organizations claim to possess the absolute truth. If the extremists are Jehovah's Witnesses, then most Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant versions of Christianity can be called the same.\nJehovah's Witnesses are known for their opposition to violence, especially for their refusal to serve in the military and not to carry weapons. And yet there is a law accusing Jehovah's Witnesses of inciting violence, which in itself is ironic.\nState laws on religious movements are often problematic, especially with regard to the worldviews of religious movements. Because such laws often apply to some currents, and do not apply to others, although they have a very similar worldview.\nDr. Annika Hvithamar, religious scholar, associate professor at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark).\n","category":"opinion","date":"2017-03-29T14:41:43+03:00","duration":"1:58","image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/03/117/foto_hvithamar_hu_592b1429f987ed5a.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/03/117/foto_hvithamar.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/03/117/foto_hvithamar_hu_655cf842f017938c.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/03/117/foto_hvithamar_hu_ae56697ddd900640.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/03/117.html","regions":["eu"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["eu","international-community","expert-comments","human-rights-defenders","video"],"title":"Annika Vitamar: \"If Jehovah's Witnesses are extremists, then most versions of Christianity can be called the same\"","type":"video"},{"body":"\"The religious association of Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany is quite famous. Largely due to their preaching activities. But there are also many prejudices against them. In particular, for this reason, the process of recognizing Jehovah's Witnesses as a public law corporation has been so delayed. On the other hand, in the course of all court proceedings, all arguments were exhausted and it was proved that prejudices against Jehovah's Witnesses were unfounded. So now—and I'm happy about that—Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany are recognized by both the court and the state authorities as the official religion, and thus equated with the big churches.\nI must say that in Germany there is no such legal concept as extremism. I can only guess what is meant by this in Russia. For example, in Germany, this may mean some acts of violence with political overtones, that a crime is committed for political reasons. If the term \"extremism\" is applied to Jehovah's Witnesses in this sense, then it is completely absurd.\nEveryone knows that Jehovah's Witnesses do not pursue political goals. By the way, I can say about Germany, here, I think, there are few groups whose crime rate is lower than that of Jehovah's Witnesses.\nOf course, Jehovah's Witnesses have their own ideas about morality, which seem strict in many respects compared to German ideas. For example, strict sexual morality or conservative, from the point of view of the majority, view of the family. However, I don't know what extremism has to do with it.\nI can't imagine that a court with enough information could come to the conclusion that Jehovah's Witnesses are extremists or could be politically dangerous.\nIn addition, do not forget that in Russia there is also a Constitutional Court. I don't know if you can contact him. But what I do know is that it was absolutely right and legal of us to do everything possible to convey the information, as I am doing at the moment, that Jehovah's Witnesses, as far as we know, are in no way connected with politics.\nIn addition, it is worth recalling that Jehovah's Witnesses were banned only by dictatorial regimes, for example, Nazi Germany. And I don't think today's Russia is like that.\"\nDr. Hubert Seiwert, Professor Emeritus of Comparative Religious Studies at the University of Leipzig (Germany).\n","category":"opinion","date":"2017-03-29T11:42:40+03:00","duration":"4:07","image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/03/116/foto_seiwert_hu_5939c3b323ecc2bd.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/03/116/foto_seiwert.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/03/116/foto_seiwert_hu_2f5a1d76435a006d.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/03/116/foto_seiwert_hu_4f3b562208b00f9a.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/03/116.html","regions":["eu"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["video","international-community","expert-comments","human-rights-defenders","eu"],"title":"Hubert Seiwert: \"Prejudice against Jehovah's Witnesses is unfounded\"","type":"video"},{"body":"\"One of the first laws of the new Russia was the law of October 18, 1991 on the rehabilitation of victims of political repression. Those who were deported were subject to rehabilitation. This was mainly true of Jehovah's Witnesses. It was the 91st year. What has changed during this time? Have Jehovah's Witnesses changed? No. What has changed in our country during this time? Otherwise, how can one explain this rash, to put it mildly, act on the part of the Ministry of Justice, which resulted in the issuance of this lawsuit to liquidate and ban the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses? What are the consequences if this claim is satisfied? The Criminal Code establishes liability for participation in or organization of activities prohibited as an extremist organization, and such severe sanctions as the article \"for participation\" - from 2 to 6, \"for organization\" - from 6 to 10 years in prison!\nAre there really no analysts behind these controlling, or supervisory, bodies that are behind this lawsuit? No experts? Is there really no one who can say today what it will lead to tomorrow? Here is the first step. The next steps - they follow from what has already been done. If it was banned today, then tomorrow - what should be? There should be criminal prosecution. Now many people comment on today's circumstances in relation to your religious association, saying: \"Come on! Yes, it is unlikely that anyone will go for it. Will these landings begin?\" I say that it will be simply inevitable.\nThis has already been tested. As you remember, in 2015 in Taganrog, when the local community was banned in 2009, in 2012 they made operational filming, recorded the fact of holding a meeting, opened a case, the case dragged on for a long time and at the end of 2015 they reached a court verdict. And even if it was fines, even if it was a suspended sentence, but it was guilty verdicts. That was, one might say, the touchstone. And now what? Now it is no longer Taganrog. This is not a single community. This is already all over Russia. So? Will there be landings all over Russia today? They are inevitable if today... Now, today there is still time to come to your senses - there are less than two weeks left - to come to your senses and stop. And, probably, it would be more noble to take a step back, because the consequences of what can happen are unpredictable.\nMany people now think that Jehovah's Witnesses are on the list of undesirables, and this will not affect us, then it seems to me that we should not flatter ourselves. And again, just a look at history — the history of persecution for religious beliefs. It always started with Jehovah's Witnesses and then affected everyone. What happens, probably, is ... that you can say, \"Take care of Jehovah's Witnesses.\" Because it will all turn against the rest.\nAnd that's where I started - about the recognition of victims of political repression. And then, in 1991, the same Jehovah's Witnesses were given certificates, such beautiful books that so-and-so was recognized as a victim of political repression. And according to this certificate, certain benefits were relied upon. And what about today? Go back and revise the law on rehabilitation? Maybe cancel it? Or should the Witnesses simply collect all these IDs and hand them back? I really want to believe that, after all, common sense and truth - they will prevail.\nVladimir Vasilyevich Ryakhovsky, Honorary Advocate of Russia, Managing Partner of the Slavic Legal Center Law Firm, Director of the Non-Profit Partnership Slavic Legal Center, member of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, member of the Expert Council of the State Duma Committee on Public Associations and Religious Organizations, member of the Public Collegium for Press Complaints, member of the editorial board of the journal Religion and Law.\n","category":"opinion","date":"2017-03-27T13:46:59+03:00","duration":"5:00","image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/03/112/ryahovskii-1_hu_a9aecc8e621c45e4.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/03/112/ryahovskii-1.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/03/112/ryahovskii-1_hu_5c5c1bbfbc6aa05c.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/03/112/ryahovskii-1_hu_f4bb98198db43d21.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/03/112.html","regions":[],"subtitle":null,"tags":["expert-comments","mro","administrative-center"],"title":"Vladimir Ryakhovsky: \"It always started with Jehovah's Witnesses and then affected everyone\" ","type":"video"},{"body":"\"From my point of view, the federal executive bodies, such as the Ministry of Justice, made a colossal legal mistake and ... religious. The whole history shows that an attempt to ban, liquidate does not lead to anything. It's just that Jehovah's Witnesses will be underground.\nAnd when I communicate with believers, with clergy, they ask me a question, in fact, rhetorical: \"Anatoly Vasilyevich, what is happening?\" This is a colossal mistake of the federal executive authorities. I'm not even talking about the fact that elementary constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens are violated. Article 28 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of conscience and religion, is simply trampled on, it is simply ignored.\nJehovah's Witnesses exist all over the world today. And even Nazi Germany, which created its Auschwitz camp for them, or in Polish it is called Auschwitz, where one million four hundred thousand people were killed, was created for Jehovah's Witnesses. They wore a purple triangle... And how did it end? This ended with the collapse of Nazism. But other states have drawn the right conclusions from this. Today, Jehovah's Witnesses exist and operate unhindered in Germany and other European countries. But why is this happening here? I ask myself this question. And I am absolutely sure that this will not lead to anything good.\nI may not share the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses, but today I am in favor of defending them, because the violation of rights begins here.\nAnd I would also like to remind you of the well-known words – they may sound trite, but they should be repeated more often – of the well-known priest Martin Niemöller, by the way, a German Lutheran priest, who said: \"At first they came for the Communists, but I kept silent. Then they came for the Jews, but I kept silent, because I was not a Jew either. They came for the Catholics - I said nothing. And when they came for me, there was no one to say a word in my defense.\" So, do not be silent. If we say that we are a state governed by the rule of law, we are a state where human rights and freedoms are guaranteed, where the law has the force of supremacy, then let's raise our voices in defense of Jehovah's Witnesses!\"\nAnatoly Vasilyevich Pchelintsev, Honorary Advocate of Russia, Senior Partner of the Slavic Legal Center Law Firm, Editor-in-Chief of the Religion and Law magazine, Doctor of Law, Member of the Expert Council of the State Duma Committee on Public Associations and Religious Organizations, Member of the Commission for Improvement of Legislation and Law Enforcement Practice of the Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations under the President of the Russian Federation.\n","category":"opinion","date":"2017-03-26T18:26:38+03:00","duration":"2:34","image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/03/111/pchelintsev-1_hu_906cc9eabc6e6858.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/03/111/pchelintsev-1.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/03/111/pchelintsev-1_hu_626e37d863d133c3.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/03/111/pchelintsev-1_hu_4cb3a16863b4c599.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/03/111.html","regions":[],"subtitle":null,"tags":["expert-comments","administrative-center","mro"],"title":"Anatoly Pchelintsev: \"Let's raise our voice in defense of Jehovah's Witnesses!\"","type":"video"},{"body":"\"As a human rights activist, I cannot help but be outraged by this decision. Do you want to make these hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens extremists? This is against our Constitution! They pretend that it is a sect, that they are extremists, etc. But the extremism of Jehovah's Witnesses is expressed in the fact that they consider their faith to be true. But, excuse me, what believer does not consider his faith to be true? Jehovah's Witnesses is a church that has branches in many countries. They everywhere freely profess their faith and nowhere are they considered extremists. And we have Jehovah's Witnesses, as sincerely believing people, they are very exemplary citizens - hard-working, honestly treating their families, their children... Will we really sink to such a shame that not only those generations of Jehovah's Witnesses who were in camps in Soviet times, but also those Russian citizens are exemplary citizens, I say again, hard-working, honest, moral! - Who live now, will also go to the camps?! It's going to be a shame! A great shame in front of its citizens. And a disgrace at the international level. This is not just another mistake, but, I believe, a crime of the Ministry of Justice - to declare this church extremist.\"\nAlekseeva Lyudmila Mikhailovna, Chairman of the Moscow Helsinki Group, member of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights.\n","category":"opinion","date":"2017-03-24T17:27:00+03:00","duration":"2:12","image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/03/110/alekseeva-1_hu_bfa1f6a275a40fd6.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/03/110/alekseeva-1.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/03/110/alekseeva-1_hu_543661cd1efbf03e.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/03/110/alekseeva-1_hu_14003898f532a7c6.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/03/110.html","regions":[],"subtitle":null,"tags":["expert-comments","administrative-center","mro"],"title":"Lyudmila Alekseeva: \"Not just a mistake, but, I think, a crime\"","type":"video"},{"body":"The UN Representative on Religious Freedom, Heiner Bielefeldt, negatively assessed the situation in this area in Russia. The report of the 113th session of the UN states that Russian courts erroneously apply the new law \"On Countering Extremist Activities\" against Jehovah's Witnesses.\nA recent report by the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) stated: \"Russia continues to restrict ... freedom of religion, including that of Jehovah's Witnesses.\" Mr. Bielefeldt noted that freedom of religion was one of the fundamental and inalienable freedoms that could not be restricted even in a state of emergency.\nAt the 113th session, the HRC published a report stating that Russia is not fulfilling its obligations as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Russian authorities, while paying lip service to protecting the freedom of religion of their citizens, continue to aggressively enforce the law \"On Countering Extremist Activity\" against Jehovah's Witnesses. After a series of amendments a few years ago, this law has become a convenient tool in the hands of individual officials who decided to settle scores with arbitrarily selected religious associations.\nThe UN draws attention to the fact that in the new edition, the Russian law on extremism has become extremely vague. This allowed the courts to easily repress religious and any other organizations, simply by finding the right \"experts\" who would sign the analysis of literature or oral statements. This policy has already led to curious consequences, such as a lawsuit to ban the Bible (currently pending in the Vyborg City Court), as well as a ban on the official website of Jehovah's Witnesses, which has no analogues in any country in the world. In the spring of 2015, for the first time, in violation of all legal norms, the Russian authorities banned the import into the country of all literature of Jehovah's Witnesses without exception, even those that had never been on the \"forbidden\" lists. It is especially paradoxical that the faithful were not allowed to import even the universally recognized Synodal translation, which is used by the Orthodox Church!\nJehovah's Witnesses found themselves in this situation about two years ago, when religious persecution across the country intensified dramatically. Yevgeny Bobrov, Deputy Chairman of the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation, explains: \"In the last two years, in the process of intensified struggle against sects and the search for extremists among their adherents, almost all dissidents have been persecuted. Members of such groups are often subjected to arbitrary detention and searches. Their meetings are dispersed and worship services are disrupted for no reason.\"\nBut there was also good news. For example, in May 2015, the Russian Ministry of Justice reinstated the rights of Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow, and on June 3, 2016, in Arkhangelsk, the court refused to liquidate the local organization of Jehovah's Witnesses at the request of the prosecutor's office. Alas, these events may be the exception rather than the rule. According to some experts, such steps may only be intended to reassure the public, mainly abroad. Time will tell how much the Russian authorities are ready to respect the rights and beliefs of their citizens.\n","category":"rights","date":"2016-04-01T14:00:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/04/40/k.jakubowska_shutterstock.com_1_hu_d75decdef3c0ef00.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/04/40/k.jakubowska_shutterstock.com_1.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/04/40/k.jakubowska_shutterstock.com_1_hu_fd30f41d56d9dc1e.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/04/40/k.jakubowska_shutterstock.com_1_hu_ad59c09b35291970.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/04/40.html","regions":["usa"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["human-rights-defenders","unhrc","expert-comments","review"],"title":"UN: Russia continues to infringe on the rights of Jehovah's Witnesses","type":"news"},{"body":"Members of the Presidential Council for Human Rights Lyudmila Alekseeva, Alexander Verkhovsky and Vladimir Ryakhovsky speak about the demand of the prosecutor's office to recognize the Bible seized from Jehovah's Witnesses as \"extremist material.\"\n","category":"opinion","date":"2016-03-30T10:10:10+03:00","duration":"3:19","image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/03/11/nwt_2016_cover_hu_2ca8bdd06de02fd4.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/03/11/nwt_2016_cover_hu_de7af7ce56a3f2ef.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/03/11/nwt_2016_cover_hu_93d1820d1cd6f87d.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/03/11/nwt_2016_cover_hu_7c07aafea4ad866d.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/03/11.html","regions":[],"subtitle":null,"tags":["Bible-ban","video","presidential-council","expert-comments","human-rights-defenders"],"title":"A lawsuit to recognize the Bible as extremist. What do human rights activists say?","type":"video"},{"body":"Judge Alexei Vasyutchenko sentences: he finds 16 Jehovah's Witnesses guilty and imposes heavy fines on them. In addition, Aleksandr Skvortsov and three other believers were sentenced to 5.5 years of suspended imprisonment.\nAnatoly Krasikov, head of the Center for the Study of Problems of Religion and Society at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, comments on this decision: \"This is a violation of the law and the Constitution. They [Jehovah's Witnesses] have been persecuted for a long time and absolutely illegally. I have letters from Jehovah's Witnesses about how they are persecuted, written during the Soviet period. They are also being persecuted now.\"\n","caseTitle":"The Case of Skvortsov and Others in Taganrog","date":"2015-11-30T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/taganrog/index.html#20151130","regions":["rostov"],"tags":["sentence","expert-comments","suspended"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"Full text of the book in PDF format (24 MB)\nINSTEAD OF AN INTRODUCTION\nThree circumstances prompted me to write this small book.\nFirst: the absolutely unimaginable avalanche of negative materials that almost daily falls on the average person through the media about the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses - a world Christian organization operating in 236 countries of the world and already having more than 7 million active members (\"publishers\") or more than 17 million followers (\"publishers\" together with sympathizers).\nFor reference, I will say that in Soviet times this church was banned as anti-Soviet, and the local communities of Jehovah's Witnesses were underground (although the legalization process began during perestroika, but it was never completed).\nBut new times have come: Kazakhstan has become an independent state that has constitutionally proclaimed the secular, democratic principles of its construction, the main of which are freedom of conscience and equality of all faiths and denominations before the Law.\nJehovah's Witnesses, like some other \"persecuted\" denominations, came out of hiding and officially registered their communities in accordance with the requirements of the Law on Freedom of Religion and Religious Associations.\nIt would seem that all the dots over the \"i\" were placed.\nUnfortunately, religious tolerance and harmony did not last long. The harassment campaign has already swept not only the media. Trials began, moreover, on the most ridiculous charges.\nHere is just one example. The program \"Zheti Kun\" on the TV channel \"Khabar\" (Kazakhstan) aired an article about how a young man appealed to the prosecutor's office of the city of Taraz with a statement against his parents, who allegedly \"encroached on his civil rights\", forcing him to visit the community of Jehovah's Witnesses. As it was said, it was this letter that served as the reason for the prosecutor's office to appeal to the court with a statement of claim to invalidate the registration of this religious community.\nLet's leave aside the moral aspect of the young man's act and the involuntary associations with the pioneer heroes that it evokes. Let's just ask, what does the religious community have to do with it? If parents forced their son, against his wishes, to join a pro-government party, would the prosecutor file a lawsuit to ban the activities of its local branch?\nI think the question is rhetorical.\nThey tried to convince us that believers receive instructions for such treatment of children from their spiritual mentors, and the literature of Jehovah's Witnesses contains calls for abuse by parents of their children. But this is absurd! You don't need to be a religious scholar to be convinced of the inconsistency of such statements. An elementary acquaintance with the mass publications of Jehovah's Witnesses is enough. As M. Y. Lermontov once said, \"all this would be funny if it were not so sad.\" But in this situation, it is not only sad ... For all this is already becoming widespread.\nSo, it is necessary to understand how justified other accusations against Jehovah's Witnesses are, how legitimate is the campaign directed against the followers of this creed.\nSecond, the extremely negative attitude towards Jehovah's Witnesses of many even very educated people who in other situations are not averse to speculating about tolerance, freedom of conscience and religious tolerance. Why did they succumb to propaganda directed against Jehovah's Witnesses and often advocate banning the activities of this religious organization?\nHaving pondered this phenomenon for a long time, I have found no other explanation than the lack of objective information.\nRussian scientists have already made some efforts to change this situation. Two very informative works were published there: Doctor of Philosophy, Professor N. S. Gordienko \"Russian Jehovah's Witnesses: History and Modernity\" and Candidate of Philosophical Sciences S. I. Ivanenko \"On People Who Never Part with the Bible\" (recently Sergey Igorevich defended his dissertation \"The Evolution of the Ideology and Activities of the Religious Organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia\" and became a Doctor of Philosophy). We do not have such studies yet.\nAnd thirdly, having been studying religions for almost thirty years, Jehovah's Witnesses remained something of a \"blank spot\" for me, although I naturally had a general idea of this confession. Hence the desire to somewhat deepen their knowledge, having understood in detail the history, doctrine, cult practice and current state of the world Christian organization of Jehovah's Witnesses. And there is no better way than to sit down and start writing a book, in my opinion.\nAt first, I intended to limit myself to materials on Kazakhstan. But the deeper I began to delve into the problem, the more I became convinced that the history of Jehovah's Witnesses in Kazakhstan is closely intertwined with the history of the spread of this creed throughout the Central Asian region: it is impossible to write about Kazakhstan without touching on the state of affairs in the countries of Central Asia. Therefore, the geography of the study was expanded.\nAnd one more point that needs to be highlighted.\nNot only am I not a follower of the Jehovah's Witnesses' creed, but I also cannot consider myself a believer at all, since I do not belong to any denomination or denomination.\nIn this regard, one episode comes to mind. I happened to be in London. The hospitable hosts decided to show not only the capital, but also the country and offered a trip to the lakes that are located on the very border of England with Scotland. The famous Russian poetess Lydia Grigorieva, who has been living in London for several years, went with us, as her husband, a talented writer, journalist, poet Ravil Bukharaev, works for the BBC. And so, walking and admiring the beauty of the lakes, Lydia suddenly asked me:\n- You are engaged in the philosophy of religion, and you yourself are a believer?\n\"Me?\" \"No,\" I replied.\n\"How, then, can you study religion?\"\n- You know, Lydia, I am deeply convinced that only a person who does not belong to any denomination can be a religious scholar. Imagine if I were, for example, Orthodox or Muslim, could I objectively write about other religious movements?\nA pause followed... We did not touch on this topic again.\nIn Kazakhstan, that year, a noisy campaign began to revise the legislation on freedom of religion and religious associations in the direction of its tightening (which, unfortunately, has not ended even today).\nNeither civil principles nor professional conscience allowed me to stand aside, so when I returned to Almaty, I wrote an article in the magazine \"Sayasat\", in which I sharply opposed the constant \"shyness\" of the state in relations with religious associations: from ensuring freedom of conscience to rough administration and legislative tightening. In it, he tried to protect such denominations and denominations as Jehovah's Witnesses, Bahay, Ahmadi and others from unfounded attacks. I sent the published article to Lydia with the inscription: \"In continuation of our dialogue on the lakes.\"\nI am deeply convinced that unbelief is not lack of spirituality. If a person deeply believes in God and it helps him in life, that's great!\nIt is frightening when a person is spiritually devastated, when instead of spiritual values there is moral decay, cynicism, complete degradation.\nAnd to choose between faith and unbelief is everyone's right.\nI am impressed by the point of view of Jehovah's Witnesses:\n\"To understand what another person believes is not to share his beliefs and follow them, and to acquaint him is not to convert to one's faith.\" It is important to be able to respect each other's views.\nBut back to our main topic.\nSo, who are Jehovah's Witnesses? What kind of Christian world organization unites them? And how is it represented in Kazakhstan and Central Asia?\n[...]\nFull text of the book in PDF format (24 MB)\n","category":"opinions","date":"2015-08-01T14:00:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2015/08/27/book-1_hu_8df3e2f0d5488615.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2015/08/27/book-1.jpg","webp":"/news/2015/08/27/book-1_hu_de7a5fb801db93e4.webp","webp2x":"/news/2015/08/27/book-1_hu_6ddc26b4cb3b52fa.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2015/08/27.html","regions":[],"subtitle":null,"tags":["scholar-publications","expert-comments"],"title":"Artemyev A. Jehovah's Witnesses of Kazakhstan and Central Asia: Historical and Religious Analysis","type":"news"},{"body":"Full text of the book in PDF format (17 MB)\nINTRODUCTION\nThe socio-economic transformation of Russian society, which began in the mid-80s of the XX century, led to significant changes in the religious life of the country, one of the aspects of which was the increase in the number of the religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses. In a relatively short period of time, Jehovah's Witnesses turned from a relatively small religious organization operating underground into a large religious association, one of the most numerous movements of late Protestantism in Russia.\nThe authors of works devoted to criticism of the ideology and activities of Jehovah's Witnesses published in the former USSR were forced to take into account the assessment of this religious organization, contained, in particular, in a note by the Ministry of State Security of the USSR to J. V. Stalin, in which Jehovah's Witnesses were characterized as an \"anti-Soviet sect\", used in publications throughout most of the Soviet period.\nUnder the influence of the negative attitude towards the religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses on the part of the authorities, the version that the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses and this religious organization itself was created on the direct instructions of the imperialist bourgeoisie with the aim of opposing the world revolutionary movement and the socialist system became widespread in atheistic publications. At the same time, in the most informative works published during the Soviet period, the social origins of the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses were analyzed, they contained valuable factual material characterizing the forms and methods of ideological work with the followers of this religious organization.\nAt the end of the 80s, religious scholars attempted to summarize the main results of the evolution of Protestant communities in the USSR, and within the framework of the research, the situation of Jehovah's Witnesses was also analyzed. According to the results obtained, the Protestant communities in the USSR intensively lost their sectarian characteristics.\nThe conclusion that the Protestant communities in the USSR gradually lost the features typical of sectarian religious organizations and that this process to a certain extent affected the communities of Jehovah's Witnesses in the USSR, seems important and methodologically fruitful for assessing the ideology and activities of Jehovah's Witnesses in subsequent years, after the collapse of the USSR, in conditions of freedom of conscience.\nIn the 90s of the XX century, two approaches began to dominate in the study of the ideology of Jehovah's Witnesses: the first is scientific, religious studies and the second approach, confessional-accusatory, based on the principles of the so-called \"anti-cult movement\".\nThe study of the religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses from a scientific and religious perspective was carried out by V. I. Garadzha, N. S. Gordienko, I. Y. Kanterov, the staff of the Department of Religious Studies of the Russian Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation (in 1994-2002 headed by Prof. N. A. Trofimchuk) and other researchers. Their textbooks and reference books and other publications contained an objective assessment of the religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses as one of the later movements in Protestantism.\nIn 2000, one of the first monographs in post-Soviet Russia was published containing objective religious information about the religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses - the book \"Russian Jehovah's Witnesses: History and Modernity\" by the famous Russian religious scholar N. S. Gordienko.\nAs N. S. Gordienko argues, Jehovah's Witnesses are \"a normal religious organization - a confession,\" and it should be treated with the same tolerance as other confessions and denominations that legally exist in Russia and operate within the framework of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.\nThe second approach to assessing the religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses was formed on the basis of the so-called \"anti-cult movement\", which is an alliance of heterogeneous confessional, political and other forces that oppose the application of the principle of equality of all religious organizations before the law to those religious movements that are arbitrarily, regardless of scientific religious criteria, declared \"totalitarian sects.\" Works based on the use of such categories as \"totalitarian sects\", \"destructive cults\", etc., as a rule, do not contain objective and reliable information, including about the ideology and activities of the religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses, and can provoke interfaith confrontation.\nIt is essential that some religious organizations are formed as a denomination from the very beginning of their emergence, while others turn into a denomination, transforming from other types of religious organizations. As this book shows, a religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses (Bible Students) can be characterized as an organization that has been a denomination since its inception and throughout its evolution.\nIn working on this topic, the author used archival materials, including the current archive of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, scientific literature, as well as theological works and publications in the publications of the Watch Tower Society devoted to the history and current state of the religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in the former USSR and in Russia, the authors of which, being participants in the most important events in the history of Jehovah's Witnesses, seek to explain it from the point of view of the Bible and reveal the main content of the preaching activity of Jehovah's Witnesses in different periods.\nThe attitude towards Jehovah's Witnesses on the part of society and the state remains ambiguous at present. Some consider them a dangerous sect, others a Christian religious organization that educates believers in accordance with biblical principles. The main purpose of this book is to help those who would like to form their own opinion based on the facts studied by religious studies to understand the real situation.\nFull text of the book in PDF format (17 MB)\n","category":"opinions","date":"2015-07-01T14:00:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2015/07/28/book-4_hu_5b570d1884935cd0.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2015/07/28/book-4.jpg","webp":"/news/2015/07/28/book-4_hu_fa1f5573af0214cc.webp","webp2x":"/news/2015/07/28/book-4_hu_ae0737c7be06439.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2015/07/28.html","regions":[],"subtitle":null,"tags":["scholar-publications","expert-comments"],"title":"Ivanenko S. Jehovah's Witnesses — A Traditional Russian Religious Organization","type":"news"},{"body":"Head of the Department of Anesthesiology and Resuscitation of the North Ossetian State Medical Academy, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation Vitaly Slepushkin talks about his medical practice without blood transfusion.\nVideo duration: 00:04:39\n","category":"opinion","date":"2011-09-01T14:10:35+04:00","duration":"4:39","image":{"jpg":"/news/2011/09/609/mpc-hc64_2019-02-12_12-54-41_hu_8fb4c5ae75235f6f.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2011/09/609/mpc-hc64_2019-02-12_12-54-41.jpg","webp":"/news/2011/09/609/mpc-hc64_2019-02-12_12-54-41_hu_36258b3e03f8a73c.webp","webp2x":"/news/2011/09/609/mpc-hc64_2019-02-12_12-54-41_hu_b0d54bc952101784.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2011/09/609.html","regions":[],"subtitle":null,"tags":["video","expert-comments"],"title":"Doctor of Medical Sciences on the benefits of surgery without blood transfusion","type":"video"}]