The city court of Taraz (republic of Kazakhstan) denied the suit of the prosecutor's office against the Department of Justice and the local Jehovah's Witnesses religious organization. The court did not yield to the prosecutor's attempts to move the investigation over into the doctrinal sphere and to assess the religious of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Owing to the principled position of the judge this case today has become an important precedent in defense of religious freedom in Kazakhstan.
A hearing to the prosecutor's suit began in city court of Taraz on 9 February 2001. Taras prosecutor K.D. Seijznov requested removal of the registration of the local religious congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses and recognition of its activity as in violation of legislative acts of the republic of Kazakhstan. The prosecutor maintained that Jehovah's Witnesses teach the population of the republic not to respect its flag, anthem, and state, treat their own children harshly, encourage believers to refuse service in the army, etc.
The prosecutor presented to the court a number of documents, including a statement of a young man to the effect that he requested the prosecutor to defend him from the leaders of the sect.
In the course of a number of court sessions, lasting from 9 to 21 February, the prosecutor's declared facts did not find support. It was established that Jehovah's Witnesses treat state symbols with great respect. Young people, who by their own convictions do not serve in the armed forces, enjoy deferment established by law. During the trial it was revealed that the aforementioned letter of the young man was falsified by an employee of the prosecutor's office.
Having come to see that there were no real facts which could lead to the liquidation of the congregation, the prosecutor petitioned for the naming of an expert review panel for a study of the religious literature of Jehovah's Witnesses. The judge order the appointment of the expert panel. On 7 May 2001 this order was appealed in the Dzhambul provincial court. The provincial court vacated the appointment of the panel, considering that such panels often were used in the former USSR for repressions against Jehovah's Witnesses.
The decision, rendered on 29 May by the court denying the prosecutor's suit, is especially noteworthy in that on this day in Astan, in the Palace of Youth a memorial conference devoted to victims of political repression was being held. This year the Jehovah's Witnesses are observing the fiftieth anniversary of the stalinist repressive "Operation North," during which thousands of their fellow believers were subjected to exile. Several of the Jehovah's Witnesses who were repressed at that time now live in Dzhambul province. They have been rehabilitated as victims of political repressions. (tr. by PDS, posted 31 May 2001)
Russian Religion News Current News Items
The Moscow city court on Wednesday satisfied the protest of the prosecutor of the northern administrative district of Moscow and set aside the decision of the Golovin district court refusing to ban the activity of the Moscow congregation of the Jehovah's Witnesses' organization and to liquidate it, RIA Novosti reports.
The decision of the Golovin court was made on 23 February or this year. As attorney Galina Krylova, who represents the Jehovah's Witnesses, reported, according to the decision of the court of the second instance the civil case concerning the liquidation and ban of the activity of the Moscow congregation of Jehovists was sent back to the Golovin court for a new hearing.
The case regarding the Moscow congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses was opened on the basis of an appeal from the public organization "Committee for the protection of youth from totalitarian sects." The prosecutor's office of the northern administrative district of Moscow opened the case on the basis of article 14 of the law "On freedom of conscience and religious associations." The trial began 29 September 1998.
The prosecutor's representation contained the accusations against members of the congregations that they incited religious animosity, forced the destruction of the family, infringed upon the personality, rights, and freedom of citizens, and refused blood transfusions in emergency situations, as well as enticed minors into the activity of the organization without the knowledge of the parents.
Attorneys for the Jehovah's Witnesses assessed the trial in the Golovin court as a "political action directed to the infringement of the rights of a religious organization." In their opinion, the prosecutor was not able in court to present a single proof or concrete fact that would confirm the accusations.
In Moscow the Jehovah's Witnesses' congregation was registered by the capital department of justice in 1991 as a religious organization. (tr. by PDS, posted 31 May 2001)
MOSCOW JUDGES ORDER RE-TRIAL
from Jehovah's Witnesses, Office
of Public Information, 31 May 2001
On Wednesday, 30 May, it took less than three hours for three judges in the Moscow City Court to order a re-trial in a protracted case that threatens to ban the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow. Contrary to some reports, this decision does not constitute a ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses.
All charges filed by the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office against Jehovah’s Witnesses were dismissed on 23 February 2001, by Judge Yelena Prokhoricheva because of a lack of evidence in a trial that had lasted two years. Attempts to ban the religion in Moscow have been in progress since 1995. The same charges, brought by the same people, have been dismissed on five occasions. Yet, the Golovinsky District Court is being ordered to hear the case once again. John Burns, human rights lawyer for the defence, described the decision of the appeal judges as "an example of extreme judicial harassment against a religious minority." He added: "Since there exists no evidence to substantiate the charges, the whole process is entrenched in an endless cycle of re-trials."
Galina Krylova, lawyer for the defence, expressed surprise at the decision. However, she said, "The track record of Moscow courts has been to consistently delay hearings on Jehovah's Witnesses re-registration applications under the 1997 law on religious freedom. Today’s judgement is just another episode in the stalling process."
The appeal judges promised a written judgement in one month. Burns warned, "We will evaluate their reasons and determine whether there is a case to answer in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg." Vladimir Tumanov, the first Russian judge of the European Court of Human Rights, has gone on record as reminding the Russian judiciary that the Strasbourg court has passed a number of rulings protecting Jehovah’s Witnesses, as reported by the Kommersant-Daily on March 15, 2001.
The Russian newspaper, Nazavisimaya Gazeta, 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. More than 10,000 of those Witnesses live in Moscow. (posted 1 June 2001)
Russian Religion News Current News Items
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