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Jehovahs witnesses statement faith3/17/2024 “There’s great misunderstanding of each other in our society, and so we try to foster an understanding of who we are by being very open with our neighbors, by generally speaking in the past 100 years, except for the last year, actually going to them and talking to them,” he continued. “In our society, I think generally speaking, we don’t take offense to the fact that most people don’t know who we are because generally speaking people know who they are, they know who they’re familiar with,” said Hendriks, U.S. The EU continues to promote freedom of religion or belief, a right that must be respected and promoted everywhere on the basis of the principles of equality, non-discrimination and universality.Since he was baptized at 15 years old, Hendriks has been a Jehovah’s Witness, perhaps the most misunderstood denomination of Christianity. Freedom of religion or belief includes the freedom to manifest one's religion or belief, individually or in community with others, in public or private, through worship, observance, practice and teaching. This right is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and our shared OSCE commitments. The freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief is a fundamental right of every human being, without discrimination. ![]() The EU will continue to follow closely the developments concerning the Jehovah's Witnesses across the OSCE region and are worried about information received concerning several participating States limiting Jehovah’s Witnesses’ right to practice their faith. ![]() OSCE participating States have repeatedly affirmed the importance of freedom of religion or belief as a pillar of the concept of comprehensive security. The EU reiterates its call on Russia and all other OSCE participating States to respect its international commitments on freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. The Russian authorities have also threatened to deprive Jehovah's Witnesses of parental rights. In addition to the criminal cases, around 90-100 properties belonging to Jehovah’s Witnesses have been confiscated by the Russian state based on court decision, and an additional 100 properties are currently in court proceedings. All could face possible prison sentences of up to ten years merely for meeting together for peaceful worship. ![]() ![]() Over the past year, authorities have launched nine criminal investigations and five Jehovah’s Witnesses are currently in detention. However, the government's claim is inconsistent with its actions. The Russian government claimed that although it was liquidating the legal entities of Jehovah's Witnesses, individual Witnesses would be free to practice their faith. On April 20, 2017, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation banned the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses and all 395 of the Witnesses' local legal entities on grounds of “extremism”. The European Union is deeply concerned by the recent reports of increased government harassment of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, which includes police raids of private homes, arbitrary detentions and intimidation.Īs we have stated previously in many other occasions, members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, like all other individuals, must be able to peacefully enjoy freedom of religion or belief as well as freedom of assembly without discrimination, as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation and Russia's international commitments.
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