Jehovah’s Witnesses Mobilize Global Response to Threat of Ban in Russia

Threatened with an imminent ban on their worship in Russia, Jehovah’s Witnesses are responding with a direct appeal to Kremlin and Supreme Court officials for relief through a global letter-writing campaign. The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses is inviting the over 8,000,000 Witnesses worldwide to participate.

Jehovah’s Witnesses Mobilize Global Response to Threat of Ban in Russia

On March 15, 2017, Russia’s Ministry of Justice filed a claim with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to label the Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia as extremist and liquidate it. The claim also seeks to ban the activities of the Administrative Center. If the Supreme Court upholds this claim, the Witnesses’ national headquarters near St. Petersburg will be shut down. Subsequently, some 400 registered Local Religious Organizations would be liquidated, outlawing the services of over 2,300 congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia. The branch property, as well as places of worship used by Witnesses throughout the country, could be seized by the State. Additionally, individual Jehovah’s Witnesses would become subject to criminal prosecution for merely carrying out their worship activities. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the claim on April 5.

“The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses wants to heighten attention to this critical situation,” states David A. Semonian, a spokesman at the Witnesses’ world headquarters. “Prosecuting non-violent, law-abiding citizens as if they were terrorists is clearly a misapplication of anti-extremist laws. Such prosecution is based on completely false grounds.”

The Witnesses’ global campaign is not without precedent. Nearly 20 years ago, Witnesses wrote to defend their fellow worshippers in Russia in response to a smear campaign by some members of the government in power at the time. Additionally, Witnesses have initiated past letter-writing campaigns to motivate government officials to end persecution of Witnesses in other countries, including Jordan, Korea, and Malawi.

“Reading the Bible, singing, and praying with fellow worshippers is clearly not criminal,” adds Mr. Semonian. “We hope that our global letter-writing campaign will motivate Russian officials to stop this unjustifiable action against our fellow worshippers.”

Religious freedom is important.

But so is my privacy. Why do Witnesses think it's ok to come through my gate, into my yard, when they don't know me?

a reply to: RobertConrad

Closing the cult, doesn't bother me.

originally posted by: Phage
Religious freedom is important.

But so is my privacy. Why do Witnesses think it's ok to come through my gate, into my yard, when they don't know me?

This is real news.

You will not read about it in your local newspaper, you never have. Or on TV.

This is happening in real life. And millions, perhaps tens of millions of people are now writing to the government of Russia about it.


Live in peace. And uphold the rights of your non-violent, peaceful neighbors. Satan and Jehovah are involved in this war. On which side will you end up?

a reply to: RobertConrad

Religious freedom is important but the world will not end if Russia doesn't like Witnesses.


Satan and Jehovah do not exist.

a reply to: RobertConrad

Live in peace. And uphold the rights of your non-violent, peaceful neighbors. Satan and Jehovah are involved in this war. On which side will you end up?

That crazy cult missed their end of the world predictions too many times, time for them to go.

a reply to: Phage

Why do Witnesses think it's ok to come through my gate, into my yard, when they don't know me?

Move into a high rise condominium and you won't have that problem.

You also won't have to worry about your neighbors dog sh!tting in your yard, since you won't have a yard.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: RobertConrad

Religious freedom is important.

Satan and Jehovah do not exist.

I respect what you believe, as to all Jehovah's Witnesses.

Many other people do not. Even the true God Jehovah respects your right to belief.

What is at stake is the right to worship hundreds of thousands of people.

Russia’s prosecutors are misapplying the Federal Law on Counteracting Extremist Activity as the basis for charges of extremism against Jehovah’s Witnesses. After the law was modified in 2006, the definition of extremism no longer required appeals to violent acts, only “incitement of . . . religious discord.” This loose definition allows authorities to portray anything that contradicts the teachings of traditional religions or promotes another belief as inciting religious enmity. Gregory Allen, a lawyer assisting the defense of the Witnesses’ religious freedom in Russia, stated: “Russian authorities use this elastic definition to label as ‘extremist’ any religious beliefs they don’t consider orthodox.”

www.jw.org...

Russia’s Ministry of Justice (Ministry) has filed a claim with the Supreme Court, seeking “to declare the religious organization, the Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses, extremist, ban its activity, and liquidate it.” On March 15, 2017, the Supreme Court posted notice on its official website that it had received the claim from the Ministry. The Administrative Center later received notice that the Supreme Court will consider the liquidation claim and has scheduled a hearing for 10:00 a.m. on April 5, 2017. A decision by the Supreme Court in favor of the claim brought by the Ministry would have dire consequences for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia. The Witnesses could lose properties dedicated to religious worship, almost 400 legal entities could be dissolved, and each of the over 170,000 Witnesses could be criminally prosecuted merely for meeting for worship, reading the Bible together, or talking to others about their faith. Vasiliy Kalin, a representative of the Administrative Center in Russia, stated: “The profound desire of each of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia is just to be able to worship our God peacefully. For over 100 years, the authorities in Russia have trampled on the guarantees of their own laws, which grant us this right. I was just a boy when Stalin exiled my family to Siberia merely because we were Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is sad and reprehensible that my children and grandchildren should be facing a similar fate. Never did I expect that we would again face the threat of religious persecution in modern Russia.”

www.jw.org...

a reply to: ColdWisdom

Move into a high rise condominium

No.

a reply to: RobertConrad

Ok.
I'm convinced.
I will write Putin a letter of protest.

a reply to: RobertConrad
Watch that, it's a fairly accurate history.
At least they do not wear magic underwear and talk to rocks like the Mormons. It really bothers me they'd let a child die because they are against blood tranfusions. That's sickening.

I don't like those nutbuckets either, weird, me and Russia agreeing on loonies.


Now for the rest of religions.

Yes, yes, we are all going to hell.

a reply to: RobertConrad

i am amused that they seem to think that a " letter writing campaign " is going to influence the russian govt

originally posted by: Lysergic
I don't like those nutbuckets either, weird, me and Russia agreeing on loonies.


Now for the rest of religions.

Yes, yes, we are all going to hell.

My classmates when I was a kid, in Denver in school hated me for not celebrating their holidays. And my teachers hated me even more. Especially for not saying the pledge of allegiance. We are used to hatred for being different.


But there are people who realize that even if they don't like we are different, they know we are non-violent, and to prosecute us as terrorists is stupid and wrong. And very dangerous for the rest of humanity. Jehovah's Witnesses are always the first targeted when human rights violations by the government and religion begin.

Think about Hitler and the Nazi. The first into the concentration camps were Jehovah's witnesses, and no one else, as a religious group were persecuted more, or murdered, aside from the Jews (but they were as an ethnicity.)

You are watching history starting to unfold again. I am just very familiar with it. You, not so much.

originally posted by: ignorant_ape
a reply to: RobertConrad

i am amused that they seem to think that a " letter writing campaign " is going to influence the russian govt

There is precedent. Even when Hitler was persecuting Jehovah's witnesses there was a worldwide campaign written to him as well.

I actually have a recording of the strong-lettered word written to him by Judge Rutherford.

Basically it went, "your actions shock all good people of the earth. Stop your persecution of Jehovah's people, or Jehovah will destroy you and your national party."

This was before anyone knew about what Hitler was doing on the world stage.

a reply to: RobertConrad

Don't worry, I won't let them put you in an oven.

originally posted by: Lysergic
a reply to: RobertConrad

Don't worry, I won't let them put you in an oven.

We are not worried.

It is for your good we are doing this. You think we fear what is about to happen on the world stage?

a reply to: Lysergic

a reply to: RobertConrad

Ohh, haha, you went that route...

One day, perhaps soon, in my lifetime, all religions will be forgotten.

I can hope.

ohh 3-23 eh? LOL

a reply to: JinMI

Double oven! FIRE THE DOUBLE OVEN NOW!