Russia: Jehovah's Witnesses treated as "terrorists"

Investigations and searches from house to house, seizing religious material "extremist" allegations. A Kingdom hall in Budennovsk set on fire. Just like under Stalin?

Article Tools

Moscow (AsiaNews / Agencies) - "You are extremist terrorists" is how a woman rebuked some Jehovah's Witnesses (JW), her work colleagues, after a campaign launched by police in Kasimov and other cities of the province of Ryazan (southwest of Moscow). In recent days, groups of police officers have visited house to house, and stopped people in the streets and markets asking them if they have never bothered by JW, if they have given them publications if they could identify them. Police have also visited schools and talked to principals asking them if they had complaints against parents and students who belong to the group.  

In conversations the police report that TDG "in search of single people and pensioners, win their trust and take their property."    

The JW are worried about this campaign that increases hatred toward them. Between March and April at least three Kingdom Halls (JW places of assembly) in Ryazan suffered police raids that during assemblies, interrogations of those present seizures of books and leaflets.  

Police have also searched the homes of 21 JWs, confiscating books, movies, personal letters, diaries, journals, computers, almost as if it were "extremist" material.  

 JW representative Anton Omelchenko, states that "committing this crime against the JW shows the degree of religious intolerance which in Russia today."    

On the night of March 20, at Budennovsk (Stavropol in southern Russia), a fire destroyed the local Kingdom Hall. Experts and technicians have determined that the fire was arson

According to JW, Russia is returning to the methods of Stalin in 1951, when they were suppressed and many of them deported. All the victims were later rehabilitated.  

Currently the organization is accused of being an "extremist sect" of having an "unfriendly attitude towards other churches” and of “refusing military service”, although the constitution allows the alternative civilian service.  



Source: Asia News
Add to Newsvine Add to Facebook Add to Digg Add to Twitter Add to DeliciousAdd to PropellerAdd to TechnoratiAdd to StumbleUponAdd to FurlAdd to BlinklistAdd to FarkAdd to Reddit
Global RSS
Comments
For those who think "love of family" preempts a love for Jehovah and a desire to serve Him as did His servants of old, up to and including those of the early Christian conegregation, can you please give just one example from the Bible to validate your statement? Jehovah's Witnesses are people of intellect and reason and are more than willing to discuss any topic from God's Word, the Bible. I can think of one example from the Bible where "love of family" over love of God brought death to the entire world of mankind - Adam's disobedience to God's command.
Also, if those who think Jehovah's Witnesses teachings are in error, why aren't you devoting your life to person- ally going to homes throughout the world and proving from the Bible your version of "truth"? It means people's lives.

by marshall | Saturday, May 22, 2010  7:09:52 PM

REAP what they have SOWN

The Watchtower has been a source of Hate Literature for over 100 years.
Watchtower and other Jehovahs Witness publications have been full of slanderous, half-truth, deceiving, misleading hatefilled articles and lies.

The Jehovahs Witnesses on one hand fill their books and lectures with details about how evil and corrupt every other religion is, but then when theirs is exposed as corrupt they fall back on how it’s *voluntary* to be a member, and how its not nice to say nasty things about them, and how they’re being *persecuted.*


by BorisToday | Saturday, April 17, 2010  8:34:10 AM

Jehovah's Witnesses come to our homes with a pretense that is fraudulent from the get-go.

You pitch that you are doing Jesus work (lie) you use all sorts of conversation starters to try to put us at ease,con and scam us into joining your sect,that is no better than any other.
Jehovah's Witnesses will tell you their Kingdom Halls are for "worship", but their "worship" consists of being taught how to overcome objections to the sales pitches they give at your doors and how to try and get their extremely deceptive literature into your hands.

Their Kingdom Hall meetings are to bolster their elitist teachings that they have the only religion on earth that pleases God,only they are being blessed by God and that all other people on the planet but them will be destroyed soon by their God.

Jehovah's Witnesses promotion of their Watchtower sect has the net effect of stumbling and turning people off to the real Gospel. (Matt 23:15)



by Olston6 | Saturday, April 17, 2010  2:31:19 AM

To find out a trees integrity, examine 'its' leaves. We have brochures on every subject. www.watchtower.org

by Margarett | Friday, April 16, 2010  4:23:19 PM

Interesting, show a little backbone with your convictions and "your asking for it."

Mathew 10:34 - Do not think I came to put peace upon the earth; I came to put, not peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to cause division, with a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a young wife against her mother-in-law. 36 Indeed, a man’s enemies will be persons of his own household. 37 He that has greater affection for father or mother than for me is not worthy of me; and he that has greater affection for son or daughter than for me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not accept his torture stake and follow after me is not worthy of me. 39 He that finds his soul will lose it, and he that loses his soul for my sake will find it.

And the Apostle Paul made the statement that if what we preach isn't true, we are to be the most pitied of all people. Same with us, the Jehovah's Witnesses. 1 cor 15:19 As ones have often said.

We're not suicidal however, and have worked very hard at establishing ourselves and our rights to live in peace here and now.

by Margarett | Friday, April 16, 2010  4:06:36 PM

Your E-mail Address:

Privacy Statement
 


© Copyright Spero, All rights reserved. RSS
Spero News on Twitter
Spero News on Google Buzz
Submit a tip
Advertise
Terms of use
Privacy Policy
Contact
This page took 0.2461seconds to load