For Immediate Release
November 26, 2001

9,386 Muscovites sign a petition rejecting prosecutor's claims

MOSCOW—A petition signed by 9,386 Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow was to be presented to the Golovinsky Court this morning. Hundreds of Witnesses packed the corridors for the release of the petition when Judge Vera Dubinskaya unexpectedly announced an adjournment until sometime in the new year when, according to Russian procedure, the trial will start all over again. Later this week, copies of the petition will be delivered to the Prosecutor-General's Office and to President Putin.

The petition, signed during the past ten days, asks the court to reject a Moscow prosecutor's false claim of protecting the Witnesses' rights. Prosecutor Tatyana Kondratyeva asserted that her application to ban the Moscow Community of Jehovah's Witnesses as a legal entity is a means to protect the rights and freedoms of Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow. By contrast, the Witness petition states, in part:

We have never asked the NAC Prosecutor to defend our rights, including by banning our religious community. Our religious community does not violate our rights. We voluntarily participate in our community's activities because we cherish our religious beliefs and wish to practice our faith together with our fellow believers.

We do not hate people of other religions, nor do we wish them any evil. We believe in Jesus' teaching that true Christians do good toward all, regardless of religious faith.

Furthermore, during her opening statement of November 5, 2001, Prosecutor Tatyana Kondratyeva declared that Jehovah's Witnesses are a threat to national security, referring to the National Security Doctrine amended by Russian President Putin in 2000. Jehovah's Witnesses are a religious organization and comprise an integral part of Russia's tragic history. The story of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, in the USSR and later in the Russian Federation, spans over 100 years. Many of us are second- or third-generation believers. Many were persecuted for our faith and officially recognized as victims of political persecution. We cannot present any threat to national security, since we are honorable and law-abiding citizens of our country.

We disagree with this action of the prosecutor, which seeks to deprive us of our right to religious association, our freedom to receive and distribute religious literature, and the right to hold religious gatherings.

We ask this honorable court and all responsible government agencies to reject the prosecutor's false claim to protect our rights.

Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow hope that this petition will be an unequivocal testimony to their desire to worship freely. During June and July of this year, 18,292 persons in this capital city of Russia attended four conventions that featured Bible education.

Contacts: Russian-speaking, Jaroslav Sivulskii, mobile telephone: + (7) 8 902 682 8197
English-speaking, Paul Gillies, mobile telephone: + (7) 812 936 61 04