Some good news from S.Korea

[GeordieGirl]

https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/

Korea Decides on Early Release of Conscientious Objectors in Prison

 

The Ministry of Justice has stated that on Friday, November 30, 2018, all conscientious objectors who have served at least one third of their 18-month prison sentence will be released on parole. Therefore, 57 of the 64 brothers currently imprisoned should be released. We expect the remaining seven brothers to be released once they have served six months of their sentence.

The early release of our brothers follows the landmark Supreme Court decision on November 1, 2018, which recognized that conscientious objection is “justifiable grounds” for refraining from military enlistment.

We give thanks to our God who has given our brothers the strength to act in harmony with their Christian conscience.—1 Timothy 3:9.

[Tbs77]

Please confirm the Korean brothers were released tonight!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Zephyr]

Awesome!!!

[Margaret]

South Korea Frees 58 Conscientious Objectors in Wake of Landmark Ruling

 

A conscientious objector was greeted by family members after he was released on parole in Daegu, South Korea, on Friday.CreditYonhap/EPA, via Shutterstock

 

 

Image

A conscientious objector was greeted by family members after he was released on parole in Daegu, South Korea, on Friday.CreditCreditYonhap/EPA, via Shutterstock

By Choe Sang-Hun

• Nov. 29, 2018
• • SEOUL, South Korea — Fifty-eight young men who had been imprisoned for refusing to serve in South Korea’s military were released from prisons across the country on Friday, after a landmark court ruling that supported the rights of conscientious objectors.

The ruling by South Korea’s Supreme Court on Nov. 1 acquitted a conscientious objector for the first time in the country’s history. The court recognized “conscience or religious beliefs” as a justifiable reason to refuse to serve in the military.

For decades, South Korea has required all able-bodied men in South Korea to serve a minimum of 21 months in the armed forces under a conscription system seen as crucial to the country’s defense against North Korea. The punishment of those who cited their religious beliefs in refusing to serve has been both uniform and harsh.

Guided by the Nov. 1 ruling, lower courts are expected to dismiss cases against 930 men, most of them Jehovah’s Witnesses, who are currently on trial for refusing to do mandatory service in the armed forces if they are determined to be conscientious objectors. But  the Supreme Court ruling did not affect 71 men who said they were conscientious objectors but were already serving 18-month sentences after their appeals had been exhausted.

On Friday, the Justice Ministry paroled 58 of those 71 men, including 57 Jehovah’s Witnesses, who have served at least one-third of their sentence, allowing them to perform community service for the remainder of what would have been their prison terms.

 

“Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world applaud this latest development,” said Paul Gillies, international spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “As families welcome their sons back home, we share their joy. We commend the government for acting on the recent Supreme Court decision by swiftly releasing these young men.”

Each year, South Korea has sent hundreds of young men, most of them Jehovah’s Witnesses, to prison by invoking its Military Service Act, which calls for up to three years in prison for those who refuse to serve without “justifiable” reasons.

Amnesty International and the Jehovah’s Witnesses say more than 19,300 South Korean conscientious objectors have gone to prison since the 1950-53 Korean War. The country’s Constitutional Court first objected to the decades-old practice of imprisoning conscientious objectors. In June, it ruled that the failure to offer alternative forms of civilian service to conscientious objectors was unconstitutional, and gave the government until the end of next year to introduce the option of performing alternative civilian services, like working in prisons.

The rulings come despite fears among some South Koreans that legalizing conscientious objection will undermine the country’s national defense. North and South Korea are still technically at war and share the most heavily fortified border in the world.

[Tbs77]

9 hours ago, Margaret said:

South Korea Frees 58 Conscientious Objectors in Wake of Landmark Ruling

 

Awesome! Thank you for confirming that our brothers were released!... It would be amazing if all brothers and sisters around the world imprisoned would be released before the Great Tribulation...

 

Here's the link to the story:

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/29/world/asia/south-korea-frees-conscientious-objectors.html

 

 

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Edited November 30, 2018 by trottigy

[Saffron]

27 minutes ago, Tbs77 said:

Thank you for confirming that our brothers were released!... It would be amazing if all brothers and sisters around the world imprisoned would be released before the Great Tribulation...

I have been thinking the same. ❤

[Tortuga]

Korean Brothers Released From Prison
The Korea branch reports that on November 30, 2018, 57 brothers were freed from prison and reunited with their families. The worldwide brotherhood rejoices with this highly-anticipated development and praises Jehovah for granting his favor and blessing.—Numbers 6:24-26.
We pray for the seven brothers remaining in prison, who are expected to be released after they have served 6 months of their 18-month sentences.

 

https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/south-korea/brothers-released-from-prison-20181130/

[Thesauron]

A new, special video report on the subject.

https://tv.jw.org/#en/mediaitems/LatestVideos/pub-jwb_201812_16_VIDEO

[Raven]

Our prayers are being answered!

[Tortuga]

The monthly totals have been updated..

 

https://www.jw.org/en/news/legal/by-region/world/jehovahs-witnesses-in-prison-2/

[Hope]

2 hours ago, Tortuga said:

The monthly totals have been updated..

 

https://www.jw.org/en/news/legal/by-region/world/jehovahs-witnesses-in-prison-2/

Wow! What was the original count??

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

I thought I remember something over 200. 208?

Older {waiting for wiser}

[Tortuga]

18 hours ago, Hope said:

Wow! What was the original count??

The October count was 117. 

 

Here is the chart from JW.org

https://www.jw.org/en/news/legal/by-region/south-korea/jehovahs-witnesses-in-prison/

Edited December 9, 2018 by Tortuga

[hatcheckgirl]

This is such good news in a world of very bleak news. Our brothers there are such a faithful encouragement to all of us in standing firm and giving a strong witness..They endured with Jehovah’s help, and all of us can too.