The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Russia banned Jehovah's Witnesses, a religious organisation, unlawfully, and is unjustly persecuting its members, says the ECHR website.
The Court has also ruled that Russia must pay over €63 million in compensation to the organisation and its members for ejectment and non-economic damages, including criminal and administrative prosecution against the members of the organisation.
A total of 20 complaints by 1444 claimants were merged into one single case. The claimants were religious organisations, publishers of religious books and over a thousand ordinary believers.
According to the Court’s ruling, Russia has violated the following articles of the European Convention of Human Rights: Freedom of thought, conscience and religion, Freedom of expression, Freedom of assembly and association, as well as Protection of property, says the verdict.
“The Court notes that the Russian courts banned the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ publications as “extremist” on the grounds that they incited religious hatred and discord by proclaiming the “superiority” of the “true” religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses and “hostility” to other “false” religions or their ministers and that they encouraged relinquishment of civic duties and military service. However, no elements of violence, hatred, abuse, insults, ridicule or calls for anyone’s exclusion or discrimination have been identified in any of the publications,” reads the verdict.
Russia started persecuting Jehovah's Witnesses members in 2017 after the organisation had been declared “extremist” by the country’s Supreme Court. All 395 branches were closed, and the organisation’s members face criminal prosecution regularly. The organisation believes a total of 175,000 individuals are affected.
Russia’s parliament adopted a law yesterday that will allow the country to ignore the ECHR rulings made after 15 March 2022. In addition to this, all monetary damages ruled by the ECHR prior to that date will be paid in rubles using Russian bank accounts only. Moreover, the rulings of the Russian courts will prevail over those of the ECHR.
