DISCUSS COURT CASE HERE JW.org - Jehovah’s Witnesses Mobilize Global Response to Threat of Ban in Russia

[Foxes53]

Satan is diabolical and he loves to use humans to carry out his purpose. Think of all the babies that were murdered during the time of Moses and Jesus. The millions murdered during the holocaust. Only Jehovah and Jesus Christ can put an end to him and his evil agents.

[yedidia]

Acts 4: 26 + 29

The kings of the (RF) earth took their stand and the rulers gathered together as one against Jehovah*and against his anointed one.’ ...29 And now, Jehovah,* give attention to their threats, and grant to your slaves to keep speaking your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand for healing and while signs and wonders occur through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

 

Psalms 8:2

Out of the mouth of children and infants you have established strength

On account of your adversaries,

To silence the enemy and the avenger.

[Omoyeme]

washingtonpost.com: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/is-it-a-crime-to-worship-god-according-to-russia-yes/2018/04/02/940a7c18-36b1-11e8-acd5-35eac230e514_story.html?utm_term=.ab2d03c47aa0

 

Quote

Is It a Crime to Worship God? According to Russia, yes

2 April 2018

 

IS IT a crime to worship God? Does government have any business dictating the answer? Those who take religious freedom seriously should pay close attention to the trial of Dennis Christensen, which isscheduled to begin Tuesday in Orel, Russia, where belief and practice of a religion are being criminalized.

 

Mr. Christensen, 46, a citizen of Denmark, has been held in pretrial detention for 11 months and is about to be tried on charges of organizing the activities of an “extremist organization,” the Jehovah’s Witnesses. If convicted, he could face 10 years in prison. Last year, the Russian Supreme Court declared the group “extremist ” and banned it from operating on Russian territory; there were 170,000 members in 395 branches at the time. The forthcoming trial of Mr. Christensen is the latest result of the court ruling. The Justice Ministry had earlier called the group “a threat to the rights of citizens, public order and public security.”

 

How was Mr. Christensen threatening the public order and security by delivering a sermon on May 25, 2017, during a Jehovah’s Witnesses service in Orel, about 230 miles south of Moscow? The charge sheet, according to Human Rights Watch, says he was “actively involved in organizational work aimed at continuing the unlawful activities” of the group. He had apparently unlocked the building where the service was to be held. Police raided the service. In recent months there have been other raids and prosecutions in Kemerovo, Belgorod and Taganrog.

 

In fact, the worship services of the Jehovah’s Witnesses are no more “extremist” than those performed by the Russian Orthodox Church, now closely aligned with President Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian rule. But the Jehovah’s Witnesses eschew subservience to the state; they refuse military service, do not vote and view God as the only true leader. Members of the group also suffered decades of persecution and stigmatization in the Soviet Union.

 

In his recent address to the Russian Federal Assembly, Mr. Putin insisted that Russia “must expand freedom in all spheres” and “strengthen democratic institutions” including “civil society institutions . . . and courts, and also open the country to the world and to new ideas and initiatives.” If Mr. Putin believed what he said, he would throw out the arbitrary prosecution of Mr. Christensen and others so charged. He would explain to the courts that they should read Article 28 of the Russian Constitution, stating that everyone “shall be guaranteed the freedom of conscience, the freedom of religion, including the right to profess individually or together with other any religion or to profess no religion at all, to freely choose, possess and disseminate religious and other views and act according to them.”

 

Freedom from enslavement of this world is coming for Brother Christensen and all of us soon!

Edited April 3, 2018 by Omoyeme

[Tbs77]

washingtonpost.com: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/is-it-a-crime-to-worship-god-according-to-russia-yes/2018/04/02/940a7c18-36b1-11e8-acd5-35eac230e514_story.html?utm_term=.ab2d03c47aa0
 

Is it a Crime to Worship God? According to Russia, yes.
2 April 2018
 
IS IT a crime to worship God? Does government have any business dictating the answer? Those who take religious freedom seriously should pay close attention to the trial of Dennis Christensen, which isscheduled to begin Tuesday in Orel, Russia, where belief and practice of a religion are being criminalized.
 
Mr. Christensen, 46, a citizen of Denmark, has been held in pretrial detention for 11 months and is about to be tried on charges of organizing the activities of an “extremist organization,” the Jehovah’s Witnesses. If convicted, he could face 10 years in prison. Last year, the Russian Supreme Court declared the group “extremist ” and banned it from operating on Russian territory; there were 170,000 members in 395 branches at the time. The forthcoming trial of Mr. Christensen is the latest result of the court ruling. The Justice Ministry had earlier called the group “a threat to the rights of citizens, public order and public security.”
 
How was Mr. Christensen threatening the public order and security by delivering a sermon on May 25, 2017, during a Jehovah’s Witnesses service in Orel, about 230 miles south of Moscow? The charge sheet, according to Human Rights Watch, says he was “actively involved in organizational work aimed at continuing the unlawful activities” of the group. He had apparently unlocked the building where the service was to be held. Police raided the service. In recent months there have been other raids and prosecutions in Kemerovo, Belgorod and Taganrog.
 
In fact, the worship services of the Jehovah’s Witnesses are no more “extremist” than those performed by the Russian Orthodox Church, now closely aligned with President Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian rule. But the Jehovah’s Witnesses eschew subservience to the state; they refuse military service, do not vote and view God as the only true leader. Members of the group also suffered decades of persecution and stigmatization in the Soviet Union.
 
In his recent address to the Russian Federal Assembly, Mr. Putin insisted that Russia “must expand freedom in all spheres” and “strengthen democratic institutions” including “civil society institutions . . . and courts, and also open the country to the world and to new ideas and initiatives.” If Mr. Putin believed what he said, he would throw out the arbitrary prosecution of Mr. Christensen and others so charged. He would explain to the courts that they should read Article 28 of the Russian Constitution, stating that everyone “shall be guaranteed the freedom of conscience, the freedom of religion, including the right to profess individually or together with other any religion or to profess no religion at all, to freely choose, possess and disseminate religious and other views and act according to them.”

 
Freedom from enslavement of this world is coming for Brother Christensen and all of us soon!
Awesome!

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[Tortuga]

14 minutes ago, Tbs77 said:

the trial of Dennis Christensen, which is scheduled to begin Tuesday in Orel, Russia

Still no word on jw-russia.org about the trial...

 

Edited April 3, 2018 by Tortuga

[LettJW]

Found only 1 article. It says the case has been adjourned by the judge to allow the defendant more time to look over materials in the case. Or am I reading that wrong? I thought it was already adjourned for this reason. Maybe it should say it was adjourned "to" April 3rd and not "on" April 3rd?

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rferl.org/amp/29142453.html

Edited April 4, 2018 by LettJW
Corrected understanding

[Sheep]

The Russian Federation has responded to the complaint of Jehovah's Witnesses to the European Court of Human Rights.

 

https://jw-russia.org/news/18041010-297.html

 

Unfortunately, what they claim in their response doesn't seem to match the reality of what we see in Russia today.

[Sheep]

As for the trial of Dennis Christensen, mentioned above, see the other thread...

[Omoyeme]

If you don't mind Eric, I'm forwarding the article here for quick accessibility.

 

Quote

The Russian Federation submitted to the ECHR a response to a complaint by Jehovah's Witnesses about the prohibition of their legal entities

10 April 2018

 

On March 23, 2018, the head of the Office of the Representative of the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights, Andrei Fedorov, sent to the Strasbourg Court comments of the Government of the Russian Federation on complaint No. 10188/17 "The Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and Kalin against the Russian Federation". The European Court will consider this complaint on a priority basis .

 

Although in general the authors of the document try to justify the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to liquidate and ban the activities of the "Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia", the official response of the Russian authorities contains a statement that should serve as a warning to all Russian law enforcement agencies against unlawful persecution of believers. Thus, paragraph 91 of the above-mentioned document reads: "The Government of the Russian Federation emphasize that the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of 20.04.2017 and the appellate ruling of the Appeal Board of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of 17.07.2017 do not assess the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses, do not contain a restriction or prohibition to profess individually the above teachings. "And in paragraph 90, it is separately explained that the said decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation does not limit the constitutional right of believing citizens to unite.

 

Jehovah's Witnesses, in turn, have the right to prepare, by May 7, 2018, in the ECHR their response to the remarks of the authorities of the Russian Federation.

 

Their (RF) response to the ECHR is ludicrous! 

Edited April 11, 2018 by Omoyeme

[rbrown1205]

The thing is, there are videos of Russian officials who put literature in various places, and then arrest the Witnesses because the officials later found it.  Also, the brothers who organized meetings were arrested, and there are pictures of them and records of the accusations against them.  How do they explain that?

Edited April 13, 2018 by rbrown1205

[EccentricM]

7 hours ago, rbrown1205 said:

The thing is, there are videos of Russian officials who put literature in various places, and then arrest the Witnesses because the officials later found it.  Also, the brothers who organized meetings were arrested, and there are pictures of them and records of the accusations against them.  How do they explain that?

 

Well, they run the country, so they don't have to. Those officals are working for thr gov, so if you're going to the gov about those things, they are not going to act. It's basically just a dictatorship. The courtcase was all just for show if you ask me. The judges, officals, officers they all work under the same authority, getting their orders from the same source.

 

The same people who wanted to ban the brothers, who control the judges to deem them as guilty despite all the evidence are the same people who got their forces to plant literature inside the halls.

Edited April 14, 2018 by EccentricM

[Omoyeme]

Another JW arrested:  http://www.sova-center.ru/misuse/news/persecution/2018/04/d39220/

 

Quote

Ufimets arrested on charges of participating in the activities of the community of Jehovah's Witnesses

Yesterday in 13:34  / The  Republic of Bashkortostan

In Bashkortostan, a case was filed about the continuation of the activities of the banned organization.

 

On April 10, 2018, a follower of Jehovah's Witnesses Anatoly Vilitkevich was detained in Ufa. On April 12, the Leninsky District Court of Ufa arrested him until June 2, 2018, as follows from the file on the court website, on charges of involvement in the activities of an extremist organization (Part 2, Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code).

 

The case of Vilitkevich is the fourth known to us, excited under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code after the court decision in 2017 on the total ban of organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia as extremist. Other cases under this article are initiated in Kursk , Kemerovo and Belgorod , but none of their defendants was placed under arrest. In addition, in Orel, two cases under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code, one of whom has been in the prison for almost a year Dane Dennis Christensen . However, the decision to liquidate the Orel community of Jehovah's Witnesses was made earlier - in 2016.

 

We believe that the liquidation of organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses for extremism, the persecution of members of their communities and the prohibitions of texts have no legitimate grounds and are a vivid manifestation of religious discrimination.

 

smh.

[humble bumble bee]

Newsroom > Legal Developments > By Region  > Russia

Court to Hear Appeal Against Russian Government Seizure of Witnesses’ National Office

[Omoyeme]

Here's a very interesting post from Bro. Anton's FB page:

 

Quote

Confessions of an anonymous Russian Federal Security officer: "The official version is that [Jehovah's Witnesses] are a totalitarian sect of extremists. In reality, these are the people who are not subject to propaganda and recruiting because of their faith. The system views them as a threat because they are organized and independent. They are repressed only because they potentially threaten the authorities. The Russian Orthodox Church is almost our branch; they take care of themselves. All major appointments are coordinated."

What a surprise!

[Sheep]

2 hours ago, Omoyeme said:

Here's a very interesting post from Bro. Anton's FB page:

 

What a surprise!

I am not surprised that this Federal Security officer wanted to remain anonymous!

[garryspicer]

1 hour ago, Sheep said:

I am not surprised that this Federal Security officer wanted to remain anonymous!

Nicodemus,  interesting that he was in this weeks book study.(John 3:19-21) . . .Now this is the basis for judgment: that the light has come into the world, but men have loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were wicked. 20 For whoever practices vile things hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his works may not be reproved. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that his works may be made manifest as having been done in harmony with God.”
 

[Omoyeme]

Here's a bit more detail about Anatoly Vilitkevich at jw-russia.org:  https://jw-russia.org/news/18041921-299.html

 

Quote

During the mass searches that took place in Ufa on April 10, 2018, one of the local residents, 32-year-old Anatoly Vilitkevich, was arrested. He is charged under art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization of an extremist organization) because he allegedly professes the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses.

 

April 12, 2018 Larisa Mokhova, a judge of the Leninsky district court of Ufa, issued a resolution to elect Anatoly Vilitkevich a preventive measure in the form of detention until June 2, 2018, inclusive. At the same time, the court ignored a number of requirements of the legislation, for example, did not specify in its resolution why it was impossible to choose a softer measure, nor did it verify the validity of Anatoliy Vilitkevich's involvement in the offense imputed to him.

 

On April 16, 2018, lawyers of Anatoly Vilitkevich filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of the Republic of Bashkortostan on the decision of the court to select a preventive measure in the form of detention. On April 19, 2018, during the appeal hearing in the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the decision to imprison a believer was upheld.

 

The arrest was a direct consequence of the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of April 20, 2017, which banned the activities of all registered legal entities of Jehovah's Witnesses, including the union in Ufa. The decision of the Supreme Court is appealed to the ECHR as a matter of priority.

 

[Sheep]

Wouldn't you know it? The brothers filed complaints to the Russian Human Rights Ombudsman about violation of their rights. And the Ombudsman decided... there were no violations!

 

http://www.sclj.ru/news/detail.php?SECTION_ID=487&ELEMENT_ID=7813

 

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18 complaints were received from the faithful "Jehovah's Witnesses" in connection with the March 15, 2017 appeal of the Ministry of Justice of Russia to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation with a claim for recognition of the religious organization "The Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia", extremist, banning its activities and liquidating the organization.

As part of the consideration of these appeals, the Commissioner was sent requests to the supervisory authorities to conduct inspections, according to which the arguments of the applicants about the violation of their rights were not confirmed. All applicants were given appropriate explanations.

 

Maybe the brothers should go elsewhere with their complaints...? Anywhere, but not Russia.

[Omoyeme]

3 hours ago, Sheep said:

And the Ombudsman decided... there were no violations!

 

What a coincidence! I just found a picture of the Ombudsman on the internet!

Edited April 20, 2018 by Omoyeme

[Tbs77]

Jehovah's Witnesses seek asylum in Europe

 

F.S.B. BEGINS ARRESTING JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES ON KOLA PENINSULA; DOZENS FLEE TO FINLAND

 

Criminal cases opened after raids by F.S.B. and the Russian Guard at six addresses in the closed naval city of Polyarny

 

by Thomas Nilsen

 

Berents Observer, 20 April 2018

 

https://www2.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/180420a.html

 

Russian website:

https://thebarentsobserver.com/ru/obshchestvennost/2018/04/fsb-nachala-zaderzhanie-svideteley-iegovy-na-kolskom-poluostrove-desyatki

 

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[hatcheckgirl]

1 hour ago, Victoria said:

Terrible news!

Stay strong my friend. I do not know how you must be feeling, since life is so different here in Australia. But we expect our lives to drastically change when it starts here too. Meanwhile we look on and pray for you all there, our beloved family, to focus forward and to keep relying on Jehovah. I am convinced He is there by your side to strengthen you, just as He has always done for his faithful servants.

 

Do not be afraid, for I am with you.Do not be anxious, for I am your God.I will fortify you, yes, I will help you,I will really hold on to you with my right hand of righteousness.’  Look! All those getting enraged against you will be put to shame and humiliated.Those who fight with you will be brought to nothing and perish. - Is 41:10, 11

[Omoyeme]

Referencing my previous post here, Brother Nsomba mentioned that the persecution of the brothers and sisters had come in waves ... so now we are seeing something similar from the RF.  (The brothers in Russia are fully aware that many of the friends would flee to escape the danger.)

 

We continue to pray for you dear ones - nonstop - as you also encourage us, setting a fine example of faith and courage in these perilous times!

We love you! 

[Jothob]

It seems to be relentless over there. So sorry what you’re all going through. We are keeping you all in our constant prayers...

[Tbs77]

Jehovah's Witnesses seek asylum in Europe
 
F.S.B. BEGINS ARRESTING JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES ON KOLA PENINSULA; DOZENS FLEE TO FINLAND
 
Criminal cases opened after raids by F.S.B. and the Russian Guard at six addresses in the closed naval city of Polyarny
 
by Thomas Nilsen
 
Berents Observer, 20 April 2018
 
https://www2.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/180420a.html
 
Russian website:
https://thebarentsobserver.com/ru/obshchestvennost/2018/04/fsb-nachala-zaderzhanie-svideteley-iegovy-na-kolskom-poluostrove-desyatki
 
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Morning Mods,

The Shawnster created a topic with this title. If this shouldn't be here I will say again "my bad."

https://jwtalk.net/forums/index.php?/topic/35658-FSB-starts-detaining-Jehovah’s-Witnesses-on-Kola,-dozens-flee-to-Finland

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[Omoyeme]

F.S.B. BEGINS ARRESTING JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES ON KOLA PENINSULA; DOZENS FLEE TO FINLAND

 

The above headline indeed reminds me of that scripture at Matthew 10:22, 23a which says: "And you will be hated by all people on account of my name, but the one who has endured to the end will be saved.  When they persecute you in one city, flee to another".

 

It is my prayer that the brothers and sisters take heed of Jesus' words and do whatever they need to do to safeguard their lives and the lives of their children.