For Immediate Release
October 8, 1998

Victory for human rights in Eastern Europe:
Christian religion sets legal precedent in Bulgaria

After years of arrests, beatings, and loss of property, Jehovah's Witnesses have regained legal recognition in Bulgaria. They are the first religion in the country to successfully appeal to an international body in order to regain legal recognition. Dozens of religions were banned in 1994.

This legal recognition, which was received Wednesday, October 7, 1998, represents an important victory for religious freedom in the country and throughout Eastern Europe, said Lubomir Kutchoukov, spokesperson for Jehovah's Witnesses in Bulgaria. "We are grateful that appeals to international standards of human rights have led to this reasonable and peaceful conclusion," he said. "All people of Bulgaria will benefit from this victory."

This important legal victory came after intervention from the European Commission of Human Rights of the Council of Europe. In July 1997, the Commission suggested that the government of Bulgaria enter into a friendly settlement with Jehovah's Witnesses. On March 8, 1998, the Commission accepted the terms of the settlement, which included the government's promise to grant legal recognition to Jehovah's Witnesses. As part of the settlement, Bulgaria also agreed to create a bill that will allow alternative civilian service for conscientious objectors. The terms of the agreement involved no change in the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Jehovah's Witnesses were first legally recognized in Bulgaria on July 17, 1991, shortly after the fall of communism. However, despite democratic changes in Bulgaria, restrictions on religion continued. Beginning in 1993, public defamation against "non-traditional" churches began, resulting in many human rights violations. In 1994, some 39 religions lost their legal status after the passage of a restrictive law on religion. Jehovah's Witnesses were subjected to a rash of police raids, beatings and arrests.

At the same time, "there has not been a single member of a 'sect' [judicially] charged for committing a crime motivated by religious convictions," stated a 1996 report by the Bulgarian Helsinki Commission and Human Rights Without Frontiers.

Jehovah's Witnesses have been present in Bulgaria since the first decades of this century. They have nearly six million members worldwide, and more than 13 million have attended their religious services. They are officially recognized in more than 150 countries.

For more information on Jehovah's Witnesses, visit www.watchtower.org.

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