For Immediate Release
February 6, 2001
(Russian)

Moscow Prosecutor Seeks a Ban on Religious Freedom

MOSCOW, RUSSIA—Even though Jehovah's Witnesses were reregistered in Russia by the Russian Ministry of Justice on April 29, 1999, a Moscow prosecutor is seeking to ban them in Moscow. The trial, which is scheduled to resume at the Golovinsky Intermunicipal District Court on February 6, is "the major test case to the new Russian religious law," states Temple International and Comparative Law Journal. It is the first time that Russia's 1997 law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations" will be used in court in an effort to ban a Christian religion.

Galina Krylova, a prominent Russian lawyer, expressed astonishment at Moscow's "persistent refusal to legally recognise Jehovah's Witnesses despite the fact that they are legally recognised in over 360 communities throughout Russia. Why?"

The case is being closely monitored by the Council of Europe. Members of the Parliamentary Assembly presented a motion in April 1999 expressing concern for other religious groups who also expect to be banned if Jehovah's Witnesses lose. The council regarded the 1997 Russian law on religious freedom as contravening the European Convention on Human Rights, which Russia committed itself to upon accession to the Council of Europe.

On February 1, 2001, at a roundtable on religious freedom organized by the Moscow-Helsinki Human Rights group, speakers urged amendments to the 1997 law on religious freedom, which law has led to ill-treatment of religious minorities. Oleg Mironov, Russia's independent human rights ombudsman, was quoted by his deputy, Igor Lebedev, as expressing the opinion that: "When the law conflicts with international law, Russia should be guided by its international agreements".

The civil trial against the Witnesses began in September 1998 and was suspended on March 12, 1999, pending a review of the literature of Jehovah's Witnesses by five court-appointed religious and linguistic experts.

The Russian newspaper Nazavisimaya Gazeta of January 31, 2001, said: "Jehovah's Witnesses occupy fourth place among Russian religions." There are an estimated 280,000 Jehovah's Witnesses and associates in Russia.

Contact in Russia: Jaroslav Sivulskii, Mobile Telephone: + (7) 8 902 682 8197
English-speaking, Paul Gillies, Mobile Telephone: + 44 7775 833880
English/Russian-speaking, Albert Polanski, Mobile Telephone: + (7) 8 902 680 1780