Russia’s Jehovah’s Witnesses Ban Is Far From the Only Oppression the Group Faces Around the World – Newsweek

Jehovahs Witnesses in Russia are still reeling from a decision by the countrys Supreme Court last month to ban all activity of the Christian denomination under an anti-extremism law. But, while that decision has garnered much attention and condemnation around the world, Russia is far from the only country guilty of oppressing the U.S.-founded religion.

Related: After ban, Jehovahs Witnesses in Russia harassed by police during religious services

Jehovah's Witnesses began in Pennsylvania toward the end of the 19th century and now count 8.3 million members around the globe. The groupheadquartered in upstate New Yorkis perhaps best known for going door-to-door to spread their message. as well as refusing military service and blood transfusions. Their stance on blood transfusions was cited by Russia's justice ministry as evidence that they constituted an extremist organization. However. their position has also been credited with encouraging doctors to come up with less risky alternatives to using blood.

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Still, their beliefs remain controversial in many parts of the world. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its annual report last monthdetailing various abuses committed against almost all religions all over the globe. Numerous abuses involve Jehovahs Witnesses:

The plight of Jehovahs Witnesses is particularly serious in Eritrea. The African country officially recognizes just four religious groupsthe Coptic Orthodox Church of Eritrea, Sunni Islam, the Roman Catholic Church and the Evangelical Church of Eritreaall other groups must register. Many minority faith groups are persecuted, including Jehovahs Witnesses. A decree from the then- and current-President Isaias Afwerki in 1994 revoked Jehovahs Witnesses citizenship due to their refusal to take part in national service or participate politically. Three Jehovahs Witnesses remain imprisoned from that time, as part of a total of 54 Jehovahs Witnesses currently imprisoned without trial.

A decade before Russias ban on Jehovahs Witnesses, the Central Asian country of Tajikistan did the same thing. With, at the time, a congregation of just 600 in the country of around 8.5 million, Tajikistans Culture Ministry in 2007 decreed the groups activity illegal and, again largely citing their refusal to partake in military service, issued a nationwide ban.

Also deemed a Country of Particular Concern by USCIRF, Turkmenistan, has what Human Rights Watch has called an atrocious record when it comes to human rights. Jehovahs Witnesses have been singled out for some of the worst treatment. Members of the group have been fired from their jobs and even evicted from their homes, according to human rights organization Forum 18. Jehovahs Witnesses have also reported being imprisoned without charge and tortured.

In unquestionably the most bizarre form of oppression carried out against Jehovahs Witnesses, a mother and daughter spent 31 months under house arrest, until their release in October 2015, for alleged witchcraft. Their precise crime was said to be conjuring snakes from eggs and stealing a womans life savings, according to Forum 18. Jehovahs Witnesses allege that the punishment was retribution for their failed applications to register their faith with the state.

Central Asias most populous country regularly disrupts Jehovahs Witnesses meetings and, as with those of other religious groups in the country, particularly Muslims, often punishes those in attendance for possessing religious literature.

In Azerbaijan, where all religious groups must register with the government, Jehovahs Witnesses have been subject to raids, arrests, fines and having religious texts confiscated. In 2015, two Jehovahs Witnesses were jailed for almost a year for sharing the Bibles message with their neighbors. Jehovahs Witnesses have also been jailed for refusing to perform military service.

Neighboring Russia, constitutionally secular Kazakhstan has repeatedly fined Jehovahs Witnesses for sharing their faith with others, either verbally or through religious texts, and even inviting people to meetings. Just this week, a Jehovah's Witness was sentenced to five years in prison, accused of propagating ideas that "disrupt interreligious and interethnic concord."

Jehovahs Witnesses in thisformer Soviet country have been threatened with liquidation for holding religious meetings without permission and distributing religious texts. Last year, a Jehovahs Witness was fined for refusing to perform military service, even though he offered to perform civilian service.

Despite there being an estimated 1,500 in the country, Jehovahs Witnesses, along with the Bahfaith, has been banned in Egypt since 1960. Members of the religious group remain prohibited from having places of worship, even if in recent years they have been permitted to meet with fewer than 30 people in private homes, according to the USCIRF report.

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Russia's Jehovah's Witnesses Ban Is Far From the Only Oppression the Group Faces Around the World - Newsweek