Jehovah's Witnesses complain about abuse by news media

[Guest Kurt]

TELEVISION IS READY TO COVER PICKET BY TWO GIRLS RATHER THAN THE VIOLATION OF RIGHTS OF MORE THAN 170,000 JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES LIVING IN RUSSIA

jw.ru/blogspot.com, 26 August 2016
 
In Astrakhan, two girls, appearing according to news media reports as "Young Guard activists," conducted a picket against Jehovah's Witnesses.
 
It is alarming that this demonstration is supported by representatives of the government and the Rossiia 1 television channel. Recently the rights of more than 170,000 believers living on the territory of Russia are continually being violated.
 
But unfortunately not a single television channel covers these law violations. After all, there is quite sufficient material with pertinent proofs. One need only visit the official information website of the Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, jw-russia.org, on which violations of the rights of believers are continually reported. Any case is worthy of coverage in news media.
 
However the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia is either a forbidden topic or not relevant. One gets the impression that the violation of the rights of Jehovah's Witnesses has become something ordinary and normal. Since besides rights advocates and several specialists in the areas of law and religious studies, news media almost never cover persecution of believers of this confession. Or if they do cover it, then Jehovah's Witnesses are portrayed almost always as practically criminals.
 
But for the sake of justice, it should be noted that at the present time not a single Jehovah's Witness in Russia is in a place of incarceration for any criminal act. This once again proves that they are law-abiding citizens, who are being illegally persecuted in various regions of the country without any basis.
 
The picket by the two girls and its coverage in news media is another evidence of the news media's lack of interest in giving people honest information about Jehovah's Witnesses and their activity.
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Routine harassment of Jehovah's Witnesses

JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES REPORT PLANTED FORBIDDEN LITERATURE IN STAVROPOL AND SAMARA PROVINCE

SOVA Center for News and Analysis, 26 August 2016
 
Believers reported illegal actions by personnel of law enforcement agencies in Chapaevsk and Budennovsk.
 
On 24 August, law enforcement agencies conducted operational activities and discovered forbidden literature in two houses of worship of Jehovah's Witnesses: in Chapaevsk, Samara province, and in Budennovsk, Stavropol territory. This was reported by the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.
 
According to information of the center, in Chapaevsk police officers burst into the premises at the conclusion of a service and ordered all those present to lie on the floor. After this, in a neighboring room and a closet with cleaning supplies they discovered several books of the Jehovah's Witnesses that are included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials. Copies of documents about conducting operational activities were not presented, several of the officers did not introduce themselves, and personal items were seized from several believers.
 
In Budennovsk, a group of persons in civilian clothing arrived at a worship service and demanded that it cease, and they presented a ruling of the Stavropol territorial court about conducting operational search activities. Personnel of law enforcement agencies, without identifying themselves, announced a prohibition on filming and demanded that all present leave the building. After this several publications included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials were found on the premises. At the same time a search was conducted in the apartment of the head of the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses and a computer was seized in addition to literature that has not been ruled to be extremist.
 
The Jehovah's Witnesses are sure that the forbidden literature was planted on them.
 
In late 2015 the Chapaevsk Jehovah's Witnesses received a warning from the prosecutor's office about the impermissibility of extremist activity, which they did not succeed in challenging.