Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, Italians evangelicals take a stand

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Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, Italians evangelicals take a stand

The Commission of evangelical churches for relations with the state: "How Italian evangelicals consider religious freedom a fundamental and inalienable right"

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 Agency NEV

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April 28, 2017

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Rome (NEV), 28 April 2017 - "How Italian evangelicals consider religious freedom a fundamental and inalienable right. Just because they are victims of persecution or discrimination, Italians Evangelicals represented in the Commission of evangelical churches for relations with the State (CCERS) protesting against the decision to ban the Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses and confiscation of their property in Russia ". Thus begins the declaration adopted yesterday by CCERS at its meeting on April 27, referring to the judgment with which the Russian Supreme Court has effectively "banned" religious minority from the territory of the Russian Federation.

"We express even deep concern for the reason given by the Russian authorities - he continues CCERS statement - which, without contesting specific crimes, justified the measure as the preaching of Jehovah's Witnesses constitute a 'threat to the rights of citizens, for the 'public order and public safety'. As Italian Protestants - said the document - do not forget that in our country less than a century ago, similar accusations were directed not only against the Jehovah's Witnesses, also of Jews and Pentecostals, and based on those accusations you wrote a page shameful in the history of our country and Europe. We hope that the appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, already begun by Jehovah's Witnesses, to re-establish a principle of fundamental and inalienable freedoms for all civil and democratic state ".

At this time the president of the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy (FCEI), pastore Luca Maria Negro (which by statute is also president of CCERS), signed the appeal that the Italian section of the International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty ( AIDLR ) launched about, and that will be delivered into the hands of the Russian ambassador in Rome,  Sergey Razov .

http://www.nev.it/nev/2017/04/28/testimoni-di-geova-in-russia-gli-evangelici-italiani-prendono-posizione/