Print this pageFor Immediate Release
January 27, 2010
(Russian)
Another court ruling signals deteriorating freedoms in Russia
GORNO-ALTAYSK, Russia—A disconcerting trend continued in Russia on Wednesday when the Supreme Court of the Altay Republic upheld the ruling of the lower city court to pronounce 18 religious publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses extremist. This mirrors the ruling of a similar case last month in the Russian Federation Supreme Court in Moscow. These developments have caught the attention of human rights activists and others, leaving many international observers concerned about where this will end.
Horst Henschel is a member of the board of directors of Wachtturm Bibel- und Traktat-Gesellschaft, the corporation that prints the Christian publications in question. Henschel was himself persecuted in Eastern Germany for his faith and so voiced his concern about this decision: “To label our publications as ‘extremist’ does not make sense to us, especially since our literature promotes strong family values, respect for authority and a love of neighbor. What country would not want citizens who reflect these principles? We know that millions will be voicing their concern that this decision reflects a Russia that is intensifying its restriction of freedom of thought and peaceful freedom of expression.”
Many Russian and foreign visitors were already puzzled by the conclusions of the experts who influenced the case, particularly after reviewing the literature for themselves online. Earlier this month, a number of international human rights organizations made an open plea to the president of the Russian Federation, in which they expressed their concerns over the violations of the rights of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia. The statement read in part: “The acknowledgement of materials as being extremist is based on unscrupulous ‘made-to-order’ appraisals, conducted by prosecution-picked experts. . . . The acknowledgement of these experts transforms tens of thousands of the faithful into criminals. . . . Criminal prosecution for one’s faith may very well become a reality any day now.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses have 160,000 members in Russia, with nearly 300,000 who attend their largest annual event.
Contacts:
In Russia: Grigory Martynov, tel. + 7 911 101 7624
In USA: J.R. Brown, telephone +1 718 560 5600
In Belgium: European Association of Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses
Telephone: +32 2 782 0015
In Germany: Wolfram Slupina, tel. + 49 6483 413110