Oslo District Court removes the status of religious organisation from Jehovah Witnesses The Oslo District Court has removed the status of religious organisation and denied subsidies, previously received by the organisation for 30 years, and given to all registered religions. This is not a prohibition of their religion or practices as they can still practice…
Reported by the BBC and others, Russia’s Supreme Court has ordered the disbanding of the Jehovah’s Witnesses on Russian territory. The ban came into effect after the court rejected an appeal by the religious group against a ruling in April which declared it to be extremist. The justice ministry had argued that the group distributed…
Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia has reported that law enforcement agencies in Petrovpavlovsk-Kamchatsky broke out a window in a building where a Jehovah’s Witnesses worship service was being conducted, interrupted the service, and conducted a search. Two armed operatives in masks smashed a window in a residential building where about 100 persons were…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed the so-called “Yarovaya package” of laws which substantially toughen criminal accountability for a number of crimes and introduce new forms of violations of law, including “failure to report a crime”. The package also forbids unregistered organizations [chiefly religious groups] to engage in missionary activity, while any missionary activity by…
Russia Religion News reports that, after months of preparatory work and a long history of repression, the Chief Directorate of the Ministry of Justice of Russia for the republic of Crimea and Sevastopol has immediately granted all 22 applications for registration submitted by local groups of Jehovah’s Witnesses. From the point of view of international…
The Russian Ministry of Justice is planning to obtain approval on a proposal that will allow them greater control over the finances of some religious institutions. The new powers will amend the law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations”, if a bill that the ministry is submitting to the State Duma is approved. Religious organizations that…
A total of 65 individuals and religious communities are known to have been prosecuted in 2014 across Russia for possession of allegedly “extremist” banned religious literature which does not appear to incite violence or hatred, Forum 18 News Service notes. Of these, 56 ended up with punishments. The cases were brought under Administrative Code Article…
The International Coalition for Religious Freedom reports that the UN Human Rights Committee has “formally reminded” Japan of its responsibility to uphold religious freedom. The warning follows reports that the government consistently turns a blind eye to forced de-conversion of adherents of minority faiths. “The State party [Japan] should take effective measures to guarantee the right of every person…
SOURCE: Jehovas Witnesses website, JANUARY 23, 2015: Russian Federation Supreme Court Decision Sets Dangerous Precedent for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia On November 12, 2014, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation upheld a lower court ruling that declared the Local Religious Organization (LRO) of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Samara to be extremist. The prosecutor’s office in…
