JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES THREATENED WITH BEING BANNED FROM MOSCOW
HRWF (15.09.1998) - On September
29, 1998, the prosecutor's office of the
Northern Administrative Circuit of the city of Moscow will continue the
proceedings against the Moscow Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses
initiated by an anticult group in 1996 that wants them to be banned.
On June 20, 1996, the Savyolov Interregional prosecutor's office of
Moscow began to investigate the allegations of a Moscow anti-cult group,
the Committee to Save Youth from Pseudo-religions. They alleged that
Jehovah's Witnesses were guilty of criminal acts. The investigation
lasted two years. There were four different investigators. No
investigator found any evidence of criminal activity. The third
investigator, M. V. Andreyeva, concluded that religious activity of
Jehovah's Witnesses is protected by the Russian Constitution. The
criminal investigation concluded on April 13, 1998, on the basis of
Article 5, Item 2 of the Russian criminal procedural code. According to
the Practical Academic Commentary to the RSFSR Criminal Procedural Code
(1995) [pg. 290, 291] a criminal case enclosed on these grounds always
means complete rehabilitation of the accused, to which no one has the
right to make claims of a legal or moral nature.
On April 20, 1998, the same prosecutor filed the civil complaint, relying
on the same allegations and statements as field in the criminal
complaint. The civil complaint now relies on Article 14 of Russia's
recently enacted law "On the freedom of Conscience and on Religious
Associations".
On motion by defense counsel, the Golovinskiy court dismissed the civil
complaint on the grounds that it lacked jurisdiction and that it should
be heard by the Moscow City Court. The prosecutor appealed to the Moscow
City Court, which ordered that the case be returned to the Golovinskiy
court for a hearing on its merits.
Judge Prokhorycheva refused to entertain arguments by defense counsel
that the civil prosecution was a violation of the guarantees of freedom
of religion and association, as well as the Russian constitution and the
European Convention on Human Rights. She ordered that the hearing would
proceed on September 29, 1998. The prosecutor will call 27 witnesses and
relies on the same allegations and statements submitted in the criminal
proceeding.
Interviewed by "Human Rights Without Frontiers", A.Y. Leontyev, the
defense lawyer of the Jehovah's Witnesses said, "I will show that this
court lacks jurisdiction to make the order requested. It will rely upon
Article 5, Item 2, and Article 208 of the Russian criminal procedural
code. It will further rely upon guarantees of freedom of religion,
association, and expression, as set out in the Russian Constitution
(Articles 28-30), and the European Convention on Human Rights (Articles
8-11, 14).
"If the hearing proceeds on the merits, I am prepared to prove that the
religious practices and teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses promote
tolerance, love and respect for family, and individual human freedom and
dignity. I will also prove that Jehovah's Witnesses' choice of
alternatives to blood transfusions is protected by Russian law and
conforms to good medical practice".
A.Y. Leontyev also said this attack was being promoted by religious
intolerance, supported by the Moscow Patriarchy (Russian Orthodox
Church), and endangered the freedoms of expression, association, and
religion of all Russian citizens.