Jehovah's Witnesses

7 Posts

•

0 Followers

Daghestan

Russia’s war on Jehovah’s Witnesses reaches Daghestan

by Saida Vagabova

•6 min read

Since 2017, the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious organisation has been banned in Russia — branded and ‘extremist sect’. With arrests and prosecutions taking place throughout the country since, the authorities have now turned their eyes to Daghestan, and after raids throughout the republic, four members are now on trial. In June, four Jehovah’s Witnesses were arrested in Daghestan accused of ‘extremist activity’. A lawyer for those arrested told OC Media that these were the first such mass sear

Arkady Akopyan

Jehovah’s Witness on trial for ‘extremism’ in Kabardino-Balkaria

by OC Media

•3 min read

A Jehovah’s Witness from the Kabardino-Balkarian town of Maysky is on trial in Prokhladny District Court for ‘inciting religious hatred’ and ‘calling to extremist activity’. Yury Zalipayev faces up to five years in prison if convicted. On Monday, an employee of the Prosecutor’s Office of Kabardino-Balkaria testified in Zalipayev’s defence, saying that the town’s Jehovah’s Witnesses did not distribute ‘extremist materials’. Fifty-four-year-old Zalipayev has been on trial since 17 July. Acc

Georgia

Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall ‘shot at’ in Gori

by OC Media

•3 min read

A Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall was shot at in Gori on 16 May, according to Trialeti TV. The front door of the group’s house of worship was reportedly damaged by a gunshot from a hunting rifle, with a cross and the words ‘believe in our God’ spray-painted on the outside of the building. Following the attack, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said an investigation was ongoing and that ‘all possible witnesses’ were being questioned, with a forensic examination taking place. ‘At this early sta

Georgia

Jehovah’s Witnesses outlawed in South Ossetia

by OC Media

•1 min read

The Supreme Court of South Ossetia has ruled that Jehovah’s Witnesses are an extremist organisation, effectively outlawing them. Houses of a number of Jehovah’s Witnesses have been searched and religious literature confiscated, according to Jamnews. General Prosecutor Uruzmag Dzhagayev filed a complaint against the group in July 2017 after ‘receiving reports that extremist literature and extremist ideas were being propagated’ at their meetings, Russian state-run news agency Sputnik Oss

Armenia

Armenia’s Jehovah’s Witnesses: ‘enemies of the state’

by Armine Avetisyan

•7 min read

Armenian identity is so tightly interwoven with religion that it can often be heard that the only true Armenian is a follower of the Armenian Church. Contempt, discrimination, and outright hatred towards religious minorities have led to a worryingly widespread perception of them as outsiders — a threat to Armenian statehood. Deadly discrimination Anna (not her real name), 45, comes from Gyumri. She used to work as an Armenian language teacher in a local school, but was forced to leave af

Catholicism

Ombudsman: Religious conflicts still unresolved in Georgia

by OC Media

•3 min read

Georgia’s Public Defender published its annual human rights report for 2016 on 1 April, describing the conditions of various groups in Georgia. According to the report, violence against religious minorities, and unsolved criminal cases into this violence, is a major problem. The report claims that Georgia’s Orthodox Church receives preferential treatment and is offered various advantages that aren’t available to religious minorities. ‘The Patriarchate, unlike other religious confessions,

Freedom of Religion

Violence against Jehovah’s Witnesses on the rise in Georgia

by OC Media

•2 min read

In 2013–2016, 122 crimes were recorded against Jehovah’s Witnesses, up from only 12 in 2010–2012, a new report by the Human Rights Education and Monitoring Centre (EMC) claims. The report, published on 7 March , describes Jehovah’s Witnesses as one of the most marginalised communities in Georgia. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has made three rulings regarding the community, with the Jehovah’s Witnesses winning in all three cases. According to their website, Jw.org, the most r