{"id":259,"date":"2010-06-10T16:45:48","date_gmt":"2010-06-10T16:45:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/news\/2010\/06\/10\/court-raps-russia-for-jehovahs-witnesses-closure-2\/"},"modified":"2021-08-18T10:25:32","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T07:25:32","slug":"court-raps-russia-for-jehovahs-witnesses-closure-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/court-raps-russia-for-jehovahs-witnesses-closure-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Court raps Russia for Jehovah’s Witnesses closure"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The European rights court ruled Thursday that Moscow’s 2004 dissolution of a branch of the Jehovah’s Witnesses was unjustified and ordered Russia to pay 70,000 euros in damages and costs.<\/div>\n
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The European Court of Human Rights based in Strasbourg said in its ruling that Moscow had violated the rights of freedom of religion and association, and also failed to hold a fair trial into the issue within a reasonable timeframe.<\/div>\n
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Russia in 1990 adopted a law enshrining the freedom of conscience and religious organisation, and the Moscow branch of the Jehovah’s Witnesses obtained the status of a legal entity in 1993.<\/div>\n
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However a new law came into force in 1997 that made it necessary for the branch to reregister, which it tried to do five times without success.<\/div>\n
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In March 2004, a civil court case led to the dissolution of the branch and banning of its activities.<\/div>\n

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The European court said the civil ruling “did not give pertinent or sufficient reasons” for accepting some of the complaints against the Jehovah’s Witnesses branch, leading to its ordered closure.<\/div>\n
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Charges upheld included that “the community had forced individuals to break with their families or that it encouraged its followers to commit suicide or to refuse healthcare,” it said.<\/div>\n
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As a result, the dissolution of the branch “constitutes a sanction that is excessively severe and disproportionate,” the European rights court ruled.<\/div>\n
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By refusing to reinstate the Jehovah’s Witnesses of Moscow, the Russian authorities had not acted in good faith and failed in their duty to be impartial and neutral, it said.<\/div>\n
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It ordered authorities to pay the faith 20,000 euros (24,000 dollars) for moral damage and 50,000 euros in costs.<\/div>\n
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Jehovah’s Witnesses are Christians who consider modern churches to have deviated from the Bible’s true teachings, reject modern evolutionary theory and refuse blood transfusions.<\/div>\n
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There are more than seven million Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide with some countries classing the faith as a sect.<\/div>\n
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http:\/\/www.expatica.com<\/div>\n
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