In response to the Russian government’s threat to ban them in Russia, the more than 3,000 congregations and 200,000 members of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Philippines have joined a worldwide letter-writing campaign calling for Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and other government officials to intervene in a case that seeks to declare the religious organization as extremist, ban its activity and liquidate its properties throughout Russia. Worldwide, around 8 million Jehovah’s Witnesses are expected to participate in the campaign.
In addition to this, representatives of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of the Philippines, Inc., the legal and corporate arm of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the country, last week met with officials of the Russian Embassy in Manila to ask the latter to intercede in behalf of the 175,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia.
“The Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Philippines are joining this campaign in support of our fellow members in Russia. We hope that the Russian authorities will stop the legal action being taken against our branch office and congregations in Russia so that our brothers and sisters can continue to gather peacefully for Christian meetings without interference,” said Dean Jacek, a spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Philippines.
On March 15, 2017, Russia’s Ministry of Justice filed a claim with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to label the Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia as extremist and liquidate it. The claim also seeks to ban the activities of the Administrative Center. If the Supreme Court upholds this claim, the Witnesses’ national headquarters near St. Petersburg will be shut down. Subsequently, some 400 registered Local Religious Organizations would be liquidated, outlawing the services of over 2,300 congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia. The branch property, as well as places of worship used by Witnesses throughout the country, could be seized by the State. Additionally, individual Jehovah’s Witnesses, including possibly hundreds of Filipinos, would become subject to criminal prosecution for merely carrying out their worship activities. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the claim on April 5.
“The primary purpose of the letters being sent is to appeal to concerned officials to intervene in the case. A decision by the Supreme Court in favor of the Ministry of Justice’s claim will have dire consequences for all of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia. Their Administrative Center and 400 local legal entities used to own or rent Kingdom Halls would be dissolved. In addition, each of the more than 170,000 Witnesses could be criminally prosecuted merely for meeting for worship, reading the Bible together, or talking to others about their faith,” explained Mr. Jacek.
The case against the Witnesses is based on Russia’s “Federal Law on Extremist Activity,” which the government adopted in 2002 to fight terrorism. From its inception, however, the law’s vague definition of extremist activity raised fears and concerns that Russian officials could misapply it as a tool of repression. Years later, these proved valid, especially in the case of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Russian authorities have increasingly resorted to fabricating evidence to justify charges of extremism against Jehovah’s Witnesses. Law-enforcement authorities have secretly video recorded Witnesses in their private homes and at their Kingdom Halls. They have tapped the Witnesses’ phones, monitored e-mail, and resorted to other unlawful means to collect information. Intent on justifying their claims of extremism, some police have even resorted to planting the Witnesses’ banned literature in Kingdom Halls in attempts to fabricate evidence against them. As a result of these actions, many Witnesses have been criminally or administratively charged.
“The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses wants to heighten attention to this critical situation,” stated David A. Semonian, a spokesman at the Witnesses’ world headquarters. “Prosecuting non-violent, law-abiding citizens as if they were terrorists is clearly a misapplication of anti-extremist laws. Such prosecution is based on completely false grounds.”
The Witnesses’ global campaign is not without precedent. Nearly 20 years ago, Witnesses wrote to defend their fellow worshippers in Russia in response to a smear campaign by some members of the government in power at the time. Additionally, Witnesses have initiated past letter-writing campaigns to motivate government officials to end persecution of Witnesses in other countries, including Jordan, Korea, and Malawi.
“Reading the Bible, singing, and praying with fellow worshippers is clearly not criminal,” added Mr. Semonian. “We hope that our global letter-writing campaign will motivate Russian officials to stop this unjustifiable action against our fellow worshippers.”
For more details about the letter writing campaign, including background information on the case being filed against Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, please visit https://www.jw.org/en/news/./WDJ