More Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia Posted July 29th, 2010 Two more cases of persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses were uncovered by the Sova center in a July 15, 2010 report, just the latest in a series of local and central government actions against them. Both cases highlight legal abuses common to the government’s campaign [...]

Abu Sayyaf member captured  ZAMBOANGA (Philippines) – PHILIPPINE police said on Monday they have captured a member of the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group who joined in the abduction and beheading of  Jehovah’s Witnesses when he was 14. The suspect, Jirome Mustakin, now 22, was arrested on Sunday in the southern port city of Zamboanga as [...]

Russian Jehovah’s Witnesses Outdoor activity harassed, banned and violently attacked . Outdoor public religious activity by Russian Jehovah’s Witnesses, Hare Krishna devotees and Protestants has resulted in harassment by the police, repeated bans, and in one case a refusal to defend a Protestant meeting against violent attack involving stun grenades, Forum 18 News Service notes. [...]

Myra Jones-Abid was wrapping customers’ Christmas presents at the Belk department store in Raleigh’s Crabtree Valley Mall when her supervisor told her to don a Santa hat and red apron. A Jehovah’s Witness, Jones-Abid balked, saying her religion forbids her from observing Christmas. She was fired the same day in November 2008, according to a [...]

Jehovah’s Witnesses banned to read the Bible in Azerbaijan — Is the Bible banned? http://www.jw-media.org – June 2010  GAZAKH, Azerbaijan—At the Red Bridge border control near the city of Gazakh, customs officials confiscated personal literature including 33 copies of the Holy Bible, either in its complete form or some version of the four Gospels. On [...]

South Korea’s military remains on heightened alert following North Korea’s threats to launch all-out war. Pyongyang disputes the results of an international investigation that found it responsible for the sinking of the South Korean navy ship. Despite the tensions, there are many in South Korea pushing to change its conscription law, to allow conscientious objectors [...]

Conscientious Objector Acquitted In Belarus Dzmitry Smyk after his acquittal May 31, 2010 The central court in the Belarusian city of Homel has acquitted a Jehovah’s Witness who had been charged with avoiding mandatory military service, RFE/RL’s Belarus Service reports. Dzmitry Smyk said that his belief did not allow him to bear arms. Judge Alena [...]

Ashgabat: no amnesty for Jehovah’s Witnesses Turkmen president issued an amnesty this month, but did include those who refuse compulsory military service on grounds of conscientious objection, like Jehovah’s Witnesses. The latter got two years of hard labour and had their Bible seized. Ashgabat (AsiaNews/F18) – Refusing to perform compulsory military service on grounds of [...]

ASMARA, Eritrea—International human rights organizations tally the members of religious minorities imprisoned in Eritrea at over 3,000. Among them are 58 Christian men, women and children who are Jehovah’s Witnesses. More than nine months ago, on June 28, 2009, police arrested 23 Witnesses, including women and children as young as two years old, who were [...]

Bielefeld, Germany – A German pensioner charged with the attempted murder of 81 Jehovahs Witnesses by storming into their community hall and trying to open fire with a machine gun has denied all the charges, a court heard on Tuesday. The 83-year-old, who cannot be named, allegedly stormed into the meeting in the town of [...]