Moscow Bans JW's

by HoChiMin 66 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  HoChiMin

  It must be Satan?

  http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/RUSSIA_JEHOVAHS_WITNESSES?SITE=APWEB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

  Mar 27, 12:26 PM EST Moscow Court Bans Jehovah's Witnesses By ANNELI NERMAN Associated Press Writer MOSCOW (AP) -- A Moscow court has banned the religious activities of Jehovah's Witnesses from the Russian capital in a move that critics called a step back for democracy and religious freedom. Prosecutors claimed Jehovah's Witnesses destroys families and fosters hatred. Moscow's Golovinsky district court on Friday granted their request that it be outlawed in the capital under a provision that allows courts to ban religious groups considered to incite hatred or intolerant behavior. John Burns, a Canadian lawyer for the group, pledged to appeal the decision to higher Russian courts and to pursue it in the European Court of Human Rights. "Religious minorities are often a litmus test for where a society is going... this is an ominous signal," he said. Defense lawyer Galina Krylova argued that the decision has no legal foundation as the prosecutor simply cited the denomination's religious literature. Interactive Background on Chechnya Latest News Ten Russian Soldiers Killed in Chechnya '; get_ad2 += ' '; get_ad2 += ''; get_ad2 += ' '; document.writeln(get_ad2); self.focus(); } //--> Latest News Moscow Court Bans Jehovah's Witnesses Ten Russian Soldiers Killed in Chechnya Stalinist Purge Victims' Names Released Russia Frees Two Qatari Wrestlers Russia Navy Chief Flip-Flops on Flagship Putin Calls for Coordinated Terror Fight "The activities of Jehovah's Witnesses weren't the subject of the court trial ...the subject was the religious beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses... doctrinal arguments," Krylova said. The U.S. State Department also criticized the decision. "We deplore the recent decision ... to ban the religious activities of Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow and to liquidate their legal entity," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Friday in Washington. "We urge local authorities and the Russian government to honor their commitments to respect the right of all faiths to religious freedom," he added. The Moscow group has been fighting for survival since 1998 when proceedings were first launched to shut them down. In 2001, a local court threw out prosecutors' attempts to ban the group in a ruling hailed as a sign of increased religious tolerance. But another court later ordered a new hearing in the case and the second trial began in the Golovinsky Court in the spring of 2002. The ongoing legal battle and a refusal by justice authorities to reregister the group as required by a 1997 law have already hampered the activities of the capital's estimated 10,000 Jehovah's Witnesses. "Hearing today's verdict I think we returned to the Soviet Union of 50 years ago," said Vasily Kalin. Kalin was sent into exile in Siberia in 1951 at the age of 4 with his family and another 10,000 Jehovah's Witnesses who refused to renounce their faith during Stalin's state-atheism campaign. Russia's 1997 religion law enshrines Orthodox Christianity as the country's predominant religion and pledges respect for Buddhism, Islam and Judaism, but places restrictions on other groups. Christian Presber, a spokesman for Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, said Saturday that the denomination has more than 133,000 members nationwide. He expressed concern about the ramifications of the court's decision for communities outside Moscow. "We anticipate it's going to unleash a whole plethora of new attempts by local and regional authorities to impede our activities," Presber said. Also Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he favored drafting a bill on state support "to the spiritual leaders of traditional religious confessions," the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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  HCM
• 

  got my forty homey?

  WOW! The prosecutor states that the witnesses destroy families and foster hatred!

  Thats the understatement of the century!
• 

  BluesBrother

  Not good news. Despite our opposition to the organisation. Bans were not successful in the soviet era and I dont suppose they will be now. You dont change hearts by suppression of liberty and perhaps making martyrs of some
• 

  earpick18

  I am whole-heartedly against governmental supression of religion, though the statement that the WT destroys families and fosters hatred is one of the most apt descriptions to date. It's clear that this news will give even more fuel to the JWs argument that as God's people, they are being repressed and discriminated against. Self-fulfilling prophecy anyone?
• 

  cypher50

  The court could of used the opportunity of this application to show the world why it so strongly opposes the Witnesses...but no one who supports the rights of all humans to worship freely can support this ban. Bad sign of a return towards more socialist tendencies in Russia...
• 

  ignorance is strength

  Not more socialist activities, but I think that Russia can be easily turned into a military dictatorship (not necessarily communist) considering that Russians as a whole want order and security and not democracy.

  i find it funny how JWs act like they are the only ones in the world who are "persecuted." The 20th century is know as the Age of Martyrs in the Catholic Church; for fifty years its been under a ban in China where the Patriotic Catholic Association (a schismatic church set up by the communists) tries to replace the episcopacy. More Catholic priests were killed during the Spanish Civil War than the 350 years of the Spanish Inquisition (which was not run by the RCC but the Kingdom of Spain).

  But anyways, the point I'm trying to make is that martyrs or the fact that one is persecuted does not mean that it is the "true religion."
• 

  ScoobySnax

  Bad and stupid move by the Russian authorities. I'm glad to see from the comments so far on this thread that others oppose too. You can never suppress people.
• 

  Dansk

  I am whole-heartedly against governmental supression of religion

  I totally agree - but we're talking about a cult here! There's nothing remotely religious about the Organisation - it is bigoted, tells lies, is hypocritical, destroys families, lets children die, doesn't do anything for the homeless and destitute, protects paedophiles, stashes US$ Billions, is totally unchristian, etc., etc.

  Remember, its own literature has been used against it - just like the UN could use it against Watchtower for its hypocriotical stance of condemning the UN while being in bed with it as an NGO. There are numerous illustrations of the UN crumbling at Armageddon and I just hope the UN uses it to highlight its hypocrisy and Watchtower's disrespect for governments. It's amazing, isn't it (though not unexpected), that Watchtower condemns ALL 'worldly' governments and yet uses those same governments in order to receive charity status and freedom to distribute its death-dealing literature.

  On this occasion I actually support the Russian decision.

  Ian
• 

  ScoobySnax

  DANSK

  whichever way you look at this and from whatever perspective or spin you want to put on it still amounts to suppresion of basic human rights. Just because you like many here have a grudge against the WT and use phrases such as "death dealing literature" in your reportoire, (dramatic to say the least) doesn't make it right.

  By your stand, you come across as more narrow-minded than that which you say you left. Allow people in the "free" world to be able to make their own choice.

  #

  The ban you wholeheartedly support is neither fair of just

  Scoob
• 

  Dansk

  Scooby,

  Do you think it right to ban National Front marches in the UK knowing that the NF is a racist group?

  Ian