{"id":2907,"date":"2017-06-21T13:42:42","date_gmt":"2017-06-21T13:42:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/news\/2017\/06\/21\/russias-supreme-court-ruling-has-negative-impact-on-jehovahs-witnesses\/"},"modified":"2021-08-18T10:25:29","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T07:25:29","slug":"russias-supreme-court-ruling-has-negative-impact-on-jehovahs-witnesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/russias-supreme-court-ruling-has-negative-impact-on-jehovahs-witnesses\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Supreme Court Ruling Has Negative Impact on Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"section1\" class=\"section\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; font-family: 'Helvetica Light', Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14px\">\n<div class=\"pGroup\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none\">\n<p id=\"p2\" style=\"margin: 1.25em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p2 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">Russia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Supreme Court decision of April\u00c2\u00a020,\u00c2\u00a02017, is having a severe nationwide impact on Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses. Authorities are violating the Witnesses\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 fundamental freedoms and criminalizing their religious activities. At the same time, some Russian citizens interpret the decision as a license to discriminate against the Witnesses and even to subject them to hate crimes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"section2\" class=\"section\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none\">\n<h2 id=\"p3\" style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Light', Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 22.4px; margin: 1em 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; color: #65605e; line-height: 1.2; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p3 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">Russian Government Abuses and Restrictions on Human Rights<\/h2>\n<div class=\"pGroup\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none\">\n<div id=\"f1\" class=\"east_left half\" style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Light', Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px 0px 0px 13.4844px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; max-width: 47%; float: right; clear: right\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"figcaption\" style=\"margin: 0.75em 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13.3px; color: #787372; clear: both\">\n<p id=\"p34\" style=\"margin: auto 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; line-height: 1.45\" class=\"p34 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"p4\" style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Light', Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 1.25em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p4 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\"><span style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; font-weight: 700\">Criminal Charges Against Ministers of Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Light', Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none\">\n<li style=\"margin: 1em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; list-style-image: url(''..\/images\/list_roundDkGray.png'')\">\n<p id=\"p5\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p5 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">On May\u00c2\u00a025, police raided the religious services of the Oryol Congregation of Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses. The police arrested Dennis Christensen, a Danish citizen and an elder of the Oryol Congregation. Mr.\u00c2\u00a0Christensen is being held in pretrial detention until July\u00c2\u00a023 while the prosecutor attempts to build a case against him for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153extremist activity.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d If convicted, Mr.\u00c2\u00a0Christensen could be sentenced to a six-to-ten-year prison term.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p id=\"p6\" style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Light', Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 1.25em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p6 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\"><span style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; font-weight: 700\">Official Warnings Issued to Local Religious Organizations<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Light', Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none\">\n<li style=\"margin: 1em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; list-style-image: url(''..\/images\/list_roundDkGray.png'')\">\n<p id=\"p7\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p7 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">On May\u00c2\u00a04, the prosecutor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s office issued a warning to the chairman of the Krymsk Local Religious Organization (LRO). The warning stated that the chairman and the members of the LRO can be subject to administrative and criminal liability for holding religious services.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 1em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; list-style-image: url(''..\/images\/list_roundDkGray.png'')\">\n<p id=\"p8\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p8 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">Since the Supreme Court ruling, at least five other LROs have received similar warnings.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p id=\"p9\" style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Light', Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 1.25em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p9 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\"><span style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; font-weight: 700\">Police Raids on Religious Services<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Light', Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none\">\n<li style=\"margin: 1em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; list-style-image: url(''..\/images\/list_roundDkGray.png'')\">\n<p id=\"p10\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p10 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">On April\u00c2\u00a022, police entered the Witnesses\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 house of worship in Dzhankoy, Republic of Crimea, as religious services were concluding. The officers insisted that after the Supreme Court decision, the Witnesses had no right to meet together for worship. They searched the building and then sealed it to prevent its use for religious meetings.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 1em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; list-style-image: url(''..\/images\/list_roundDkGray.png'')\">\n<p id=\"p11\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p11 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">Since the Supreme Court decision, there have been at least five other instances where police interrupted religious services of the Witnesses, one of which was held in a private home.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><font face=\"Helvetica Light, Helvetica, Droid Sans, Arial, Arial Unicode MS, sans-serif\"><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/mtba52l.jpg\" border=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"350\" \/><\/div>\n<p><\/font><\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Light', Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16.1px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0.15em 0px; border-width: 1px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: #9e9c9b; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: #9e9c9b; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; text-size-adjust: none; quotes: none; overflow: auto; clear: both\">\n<p id=\"p12\" style=\"margin: 1.25em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p12 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m deeply concerned by this unwarranted criminalization of the peaceful activities of members of the Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses communities in Russia. .\u00c2\u00a0.\u00c2\u00a0. I urge the Russian authorities to ensure that rights to freedom of religion or belief, freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and association of individuals belonging to the Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses community are upheld, in compliance with the obligations of the country under international human rights law and OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] commitments.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201dMichael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p id=\"p13\" style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Light', Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 1.25em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p13 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\"><span style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; font-weight: 700\">Witness Schoolchildren Targeted<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Light', Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none\">\n<li style=\"margin: 1em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; list-style-image: url(''..\/images\/list_roundDkGray.png'')\">\n<p id=\"p14\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p14 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">On April\u00c2\u00a024, in the village of Bezvodnoye, Kirov Region, a teacher humiliated two young students whose mother is one of Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses. The teacher justified her actions by stating that the Witnesses are banned in Russia.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 1em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; list-style-image: url(''..\/images\/list_roundDkGray.png'')\">\n<p id=\"p15\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p15 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">On May\u00c2\u00a017, in the Moscow Region, a school principal issued a written warning to the parents of an eight-year-old student who had spoken about God to a classmate. The document referred to the Supreme Court decision and prohibited on school grounds \u00e2\u20ac\u0153all actions that do not relate to the educational process.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The principal threatened to report the matter to the police and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153to raise the issue of transferring the child to another form of training.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p id=\"p16\" style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Light', Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 1.25em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p16 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\"><span style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; font-weight: 700\">Witness Men Denied Alternative Civilian Service<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Light', Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none\">\n<li style=\"margin: 1em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; list-style-image: url(''..\/images\/list_roundDkGray.png'')\">\n<p id=\"p17\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p17 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">On April\u00c2\u00a028, the Conscription Commission of the Cheboksary and Marposadskiy regions rejected the application of one of Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses for alternative service. The Commission stated that Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses are \u00e2\u20ac\u0153extremist\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and cannot be granted alternative service.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 1em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; list-style-image: url(''..\/images\/list_roundDkGray.png'')\">\n<p id=\"p18\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p18 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">At least two other male Witnesses similarly had their applications for alternative civilian service denied.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p id=\"p19\" style=\"font-family: 'Helvetica Light', Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 1.25em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p19 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">Philip Brumley, general counsel for Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses, noted the contradiction in the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s stance: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153On the one hand, the government refuses alternative civilian service to young Witnesses because they are \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcextremists,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 while on the other hand, it demands that these \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcextremists\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 be inducted into the army. Does it make sense that the government would allow \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcextremists\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 to be in the army?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"section3\" class=\"section\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; font-family: 'Helvetica Light', Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14px\">\n<h2 id=\"p20\" style=\"margin: 1em 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; color: #65605e; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 22.4px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p20 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">Societal Abuses and Discrimination<\/h2>\n<div class=\"pGroup\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none\">\n<p id=\"p21\" style=\"margin: 1.25em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p21 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\"><span style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; font-weight: 700\">Acts of Violence Against Witnesses<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none\">\n<li style=\"margin: 1em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; list-style-image: url(''..\/images\/list_roundDkGray.png'')\">\n<p id=\"p22\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p22 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">On April\u00c2\u00a030, in Lutsino, Moscow Region, the home of a Witness family was burned to the ground, along with the adjoining home of their elderly parents. The arsonist had first expressed his hatred for the family\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s religion and then started the fire.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 1em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; list-style-image: url(''..\/images\/list_roundDkGray.png'')\">\n<p id=\"p23\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p23 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">On May\u00c2\u00a024, in Zheshart, Komi Republic, arsonists caused significant damage to a building used by Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses for religious services<\/p>\n<div id=\"f2\" class=\"south_left\" style=\"margin: 2em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; float: none; clear: both\">\n<div class=\"figcaption\" style=\"margin: 0.75em 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13.3px; color: #787372; clear: both\">\n<p id=\"p35\" style=\"margin: auto 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; line-height: 1.45\" class=\"p35 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">Kingdom Hall in Zheshart damaged by arson<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 1em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; list-style-image: url(''..\/images\/list_roundDkGray.png'')\">\n<p id=\"p24\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p24 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">At least nine other houses of worship have been vandalized since the Supreme Court decision of April\u00c2\u00a020,\u00c2\u00a02017.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 1em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; list-style-image: url(''..\/images\/list_roundDkGray.png'')\">\n<p id=\"p25\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p25 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">On April\u00c2\u00a026, one of Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses in Belgorod was leaving his home when an attacker yelled, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You have been banned!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and then he beat the Witness.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 1em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; list-style-image: url(''..\/images\/list_roundDkGray.png'')\">\n<p id=\"p26\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p26 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">On May\u00c2\u00a011, a group of men interrupted the religious services of Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses in Tyumen and, using obscene and insulting language, threatened to harm the attendees.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p id=\"p27\" style=\"margin: 1.25em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p27 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\"><span style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; font-weight: 700\">Witnesses Dismissed From Employment<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none\">\n<li style=\"margin: 1em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; list-style-image: url(''..\/images\/list_roundDkGray.png'')\">\n<p id=\"p28\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p28 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">On May\u00c2\u00a015, the management of a chemical factory in Dorogobuzh, Smolensk Region, dismissed all of its employees who are Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses. The management explained that they had received an order from the FSB to dismiss all of the Witnesses because \u00e2\u20ac\u0153extremists\u00e2\u20ac\u009d cannot work at the factory.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"margin: 1em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; list-style-image: url(''..\/images\/list_roundDkGray.png'')\">\n<p id=\"p29\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p29 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">In at least three other incidents since the Supreme Court decision, Witness employees have been threatened with dismissal because they belong to an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153extremist\u00e2\u20ac\u009d religion. In the village of Yashkino, Kemerovo Region, the police pressured one Witness, but she refused to divulge information on other Witnesses. The officers said that it was unlawful to be a member of a banned religion and likened Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses to ISIS terrorists.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"section4\" class=\"section\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; font-family: 'Helvetica Light', Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', Arial, 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14px\">\n<h2 id=\"p30\" style=\"margin: 1em 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; color: #65605e; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 22.4px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p30 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">Concern for the Welfare of Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses in Russia<\/h2>\n<div class=\"pGroup\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none\">\n<p id=\"p31\" style=\"margin: 1.25em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p31 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">In the ten years leading up to the Supreme Court decision, Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses in Russia were\u00c2\u00a0<a class=\"pubSym-ijw17lg\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jw.org\/en\/news\/legal\/by-region\/russia\/decade-long-attack-religious-freedom-intensifies\/\">victims of a government-sponsored attack<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0against their religious freedom that subjected them to much harassment. Now in the aftermath of the decision, their security is even less certain. The decision vilifies the Witnesses and has emboldened some individuals and government officials to inflict further harm, as exemplified by these recent incidents. Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses worldwide are greatly concerned about what will happen to their fellow Witnesses in Russia if the Appellate Chamber of the Supreme Court upholds the decision when it considers the case on July\u00c2\u00a017,\u00c2\u00a02017.<\/p>\n<p id=\"p32\" style=\"margin: 1.25em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p32 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">Mr.\u00c2\u00a0Brumley stated: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153No one has presented any evidence that even remotely links Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses with extremism. The alleged danger that the Witnesses are accused of posing to society is in no way commensurate with the persecution they have already endured. Russia needs to rethink its actions against Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses in light of its constitution and its international agreements that guarantee religious freedom.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p id=\"p32\" style=\"margin: 1.25em 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent\" class=\"p32 disableActiveState jsHasHighlightListener\">https:\/\/www.jw.org\/en\/news\/legal\/by-region\/russia\/supreme-court-ruling-negative-impact-jehovahs-witnesses\/\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Russia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Supreme Court decision of April\u00c2\u00a020,\u00c2\u00a02017, is having a severe nationwide impact on Jehovah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Witnesses. Authorities are violating the Witnesses\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 fundamental freedoms and criminalizing their religious activities. At the same time, some Russian citizens interpret&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-news","category-russia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2907"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5626,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2907\/revisions\/5626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}