President Putin says Jehovah's Witnesses are not terrorists?

[Dustparticle]

3 hours ago, TrueTomHarley said:

 

Sometimes that is called naivety, Carlos. Sometimes it blows up in my face. Maybe it will here. It might be, not the mark of a better Christian, but a dumber one.

 

Still, at a news conference yesterday, he expressed concern over the prospect of nuclear war. “The danger of the situation escalating is being downplayed,” he said, adding that it “could really lead us to catastrophe.” If he loses sleep at night, I think it is not over the travails of a small religion. It is over the thought of the world going up in flames.

 

In some respects, it is similar to the situation with Pilate judging Jesus. Pilate knew he was being set up. He knew he was innocent. He worked rather hard to free him. But the liars were so insistent, even hinting that to release him would be treasonous, that he eventually caved. After all, it wasn’t his main concern. 

 

He tried to do the right thing. That’s how it is with many in the world. They try to do the right thing, but they only try so hard. When the going gets rough, they opt for expediency.

 

 Believe me my brother, I'm no better than others. We are all the same too.

[Bruceq]

Amendment of law may affect Jehovah's Witnesses

DEFENSE LAWYER CRITICIZES SENTENCE OF ARKADY AKOPIAN IN LIGHT OF MITIGATION OF EXTREMISM ARTICLE

by Oleg Krasnov, Liudmila Maratova

Kavkazskii Uzel, 28 December 2018

 

The sentence of Jehovah's Witness* Arkady Akopian should be cancelled because of the decriminalization of the article concerning extremism, his attorney declared. Akopian became the first follower of Jehovah's Witnesses* to be convicted of arousing religious strife.

 

As Kavkazskii Uzel reported, on 27 December a court found Arkady Akopian, an adherent of the teaching of Jehovah's Witnesses* from Prokhladnyi, guilty on the basis of part 1 of article 282 of the Criminal Code of the RF (arousing hatred and enmity) and sentenced him to 120 hours of compulsory labor. Akopian's defense insists on his complete innocence.

 

On 27 December, the Russian president signed a law amending article 282 of the Criminal Code, and these amendments make the sentence of Akopian baseless even from the position of the prosecution, Anton Omelchenko, the attorney of the defendant, declared. He intends to appeal the sentence in the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria by 29 December. After the mitigation of part 1 of article 282, it is now impossible to convict adherents of the Jehovah's Witnesses* based upon it, agrees a representative of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses,* Yaroslav Sivulsky.

 

After the partial decriminalization of article 282, criminal cases based upon it may be opened only in the event of a repeated violation. The only remaining exceptions are crimes posing a serious threat to the foundations of the constitutional order or to the security of the state. The article was mitigated after a number of cases that were opened for reposting on social networks, Pravo reported today. The amendments will have retroactive force: after the law takes effect, sentences that were in effect on the basis of this article will be cancelled and cases that have been opened will be suspended, Interfax reported today.

 

The case of Arkady Akopian is unique: only six followers of the teaching of Jehovah's Witnesses* have been tried on the basis of part 1 of article 282 of the CC, and only Akopian's case culminated in a conviction, noted Alexander Verkhovsky, the director of the Sova Center for News and Analysis. "The overwhelming majority of criminal cases against Jehovah's Witnesses* were opened on the basis of article 282.2 (participation in an extremist organization). Akopian was accused of inciting religious hatred," he told a Kavkazskii Uzel correspondent.

 

At the same time, Arkady Akopian became the first adherent of Jehovah's Witnesses* to be convicted after the total ban of this organization in Russia, Verkhovsky pointed out. This was confirmed also by Yaroslav Sivulsky. "There are now 90 Jehovah's Witnesses* in a SIZO. Not a single case begun after the total ban has reached trial. At the same time, many cases that were considered after regional bans led to sentences," Alexander Verkhovsky said.

 

Sivulsky thinks that Akopian's sentence will not affect other cases of Jehovah's Witnesses.* He noted that the investigation has managed to persuade the court on only one point of an accusation: mass distribution of forbidden literature.

 

"In April 2017, back before the liquidation of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses,* searches were conducted in Akopian's home. But law enforcement agents did not manage to find anything forbidden and they went silent for a year. And suddenly the case was revived and there appeared witnesses of a speech by Akopian that insulted Christians and Muslims. Among other things, people suddenly appeared who were inspired by Akopian and who began distributing forbidden publications. In all, five publications were distributed, which was regarded as 'mass distribution.' All this—from beginning to end—was fabricated; there was nothing to it," the representative of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses* declared.

 

During punishment, Akopian's freedom of movement is limited

 

This kind of punishment as corrective labor is considered in legal circles as lenient, noted Evgeny Chernousov, an attorney and retired colonel of the MVD. He explained that the convict is supposed to be given a time for conducting such public work like cleaning up an area. The convict's start of labor and its completion should be noted. In addition, while serving the punishment, the convict may not leave the region of his residence unless it is necessary for doing the public labor, Chernousov told a Kavkazskii Uzel correspondent.

 

Since Akopian's sentence still has not taken effect, no restrictions have been imposed on him, attorney Anton Omelchenko noted. "Conviction on article 282 of the CC of the RF places a person on the list of extremists, which makes it impossible to use bank accounts for a long time and difficult to get insurance and use a vehicle. This does not affect the retired Akopian, but it is worth defending his good name," he added.

 

Arkady Akopian himself refused to comment on the court's decision for a Kavkazskii Uzel correspondent.

 

*The organization was ruled to be extremist and its activity is prohibited in Russia by court decision.

(tr. by PDS, posted 31 December 2018)

 
Related article: 
Revised law mitigates penalty for extremist publications
December 28, 2018 
One Jehovah's Witness' criminal case drags on for a year and a half
December 21, 2018

[McKay]

When all this was going down in April 2017, Newsweek had an article that gave four reasons why we were being persecuted. 1) We're headquartered in the United States, so Putin sees us as an American enterprise, 2) we are politically neutral, so Putin has no use for people who don't vote for him, 3) we don't serve in the military, so Putin views us as useless citizens, and 4) he cannot control us. I think the last one is the most accurate. Autocrats like to control everything and everyone. We'll always be viewed as enemies by these type of leaders.

[EccentricM]

On 12/19/2018 at 10:46 AM, carlos said:

You bring the drinks!

Not all Russians are the same as this, Carlos...

 

Edited January 5, 2019 by EccentricM

[EccentricM]

It's an odd statement, as you'd think Putin has all the power in his country and would be able to prevent such happening to our brothers over there in the first place if he has such an opinion. But most likely just a front, perhaps to keep the other nations off his back if he plays the innocent one. Words, but no actions, so long as he can keep the pressure from other governments at bay.

 

On the other hand, if he's being legit, it may just be due to the complaints already made by other nations over all this.

Edited January 5, 2019 by EccentricM

[Bruceq]

 "Kremlin watchers said the president’s comments could spell the end of a two-year-long persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia."

 

From Religion News Service yesterday:

[EDITED: Please don't paste whole articles, include just a snippet and a link to the article instead.]

 

https://religionnews.com/2019/01/09/putin-disavows-crackdown-on-jehovahs-witnesses-giving-hope-to-detained/

Putin disavows crackdown on Jehovah’s Witnesses, giving hope to detained

January 9, 2019

6 Min Read

 

MOSCOW (RNS) — Before he was arrested in April, Anatoly Vilitkevich often went door to door in his hometown, proselytizing and passing out literature inviting strangers to join his church. On April 10, masked police officers armed with automatic weapons arrested the 32-year-old handyman at the apartment he shares with his wife, Alyona, in Ufa, in central Russia. They advised him to bring warm clothes.

“They said he wouldn’t be coming home again,” said Alyona Vilitkevich. His sole crime under Russian law was doing what Jehovah’s Witnesses are known for the world over.

But lately Vilitkevich’s family has cause for hope. Last month, while meeting with human rights defenders, Russian President Vladimir Putin called assertions that Jehovah’s Witnesses had been classified as members of a terrorist, or even destructive, organization “complete nonsense.”

 

Edited January 21, 2019 by carlos