![]() ![]() It was not surprising that the expert, A.S., offered a negative assessment of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The third is that the Jehovah’s Witnesses, according to the expert, falsely claim to be Christian, while they “cannot be Christian, because the documents presented do not state that the organization accepts the Nicene Creed, which is a prerequisite for being a Christian organization or church.” The expert concluded that “Jehovah’s Witnesses are far from being a Christian organization.”Ī fourth criticism is that the Jehovah’s Witnesses do not vote in elections, thus “weakening democracy,” and are conscientious objectors, this “weakening and disrupting the defense of the country at war.” The second criticism was that the Jehovah’s Witnesses engage in “soul hunting,” i.e., proselytization, which as mentioned earlier is forbidden in Nagorno-Karabakh to all religious organizations other than the Armenian Apostolic Church. When these methods are used, a person comes under the total influence, that is, his mentality, behavior, personality type are transformed.” “Such influence, the expert said, results in emotional regression and a motivation for the deep layers of the subconscious, which is dangerous for emotional stability and integrity… Believers are presented with a series of seemingly harmless actions, which gradually draw in an individual, making him obedient and dependent, depriving him of his own will.” Although the word is not used, this is a typical statement of the pseudo-scientific theory of brainwashing, commonly used by Russian and other critics of “cults.” ![]() The ECHR decision uses the word “sect,” but in fact terms such as “секта” (sekta) in Russian and similar should be translated as “cult,” as I have explained elsewhere.Įchoing Russian anti-cult literature, the expert explained that “ministers (preachers) of use mainly psychological methods of persuasion and inspiration. The first was that the Jehovah’s Witnesses are a “totalitarian cult” practicing mental manipulation. The opinion was totally negative, and based on four main arguments. On July 6, 2009, the Jehovah’s Witnesses received copy of the expert opinion, prepared by A.S., Chief of the Department for National Minorities and Religious Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh government. The Jehovah’s Witnesses, who were registered in Armenia since 2004, applied for registration in Nagorno-Karabakh for the first time in 2008, which under the local law implied seeking an expert opinion. One of the criteria for registration is that religious organizations do not engage in “soul hunting,” i.e., proselytization, which according to article 17 of the 2008 Act is only lawful in Nagorno-Karabakh if practiced by the Armenian Apostolic Church, the majority religion in Armenia. The “experts” are often anti-cult bureaucrats or activists, and the “expert opinions” easily become tools for discrimination. ![]() These “expert opinions” exist in other post-Soviet countries as well. The religions that want to register should ask first that an expert opinion, confirming that they comply with the conditions listed in the law for registration, is obtained from the Department for National Minorities and Religious Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh government. In Nagorno-Karabakh, a law of November 26, 2008, called “Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations Act” made registration of religious organizations mandatory. Since 1993, Jehovah’s Witnesses have been active in Nagorno-Karabakh, where they had some 500 members at the time of the events examined by the ECHR. Regardless of its international status, the ECHR has consistently ruled that in the areas and at the time when portions of Nagorno-Karabakh were de facto controlled by Armenia, it is Armenia that should be responsible for human rights violations, and this even if the territory enacts its own laws. Nagorno-Karabakh is a territory disputed between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which repeatedly went to war about its control, the last time in 2020. We offer a downloadable version of the full judgement. ![]() Armenia” ruled against Armenia in a case concerning the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Nagorno-Karabakh. On March 22, 2022, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in “Christian Religious Organization of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the NKR v. On March 22, Armenia was held responsible for decisions rendered in Nagorno-Karabakh, and lost an important case.īy Massimo Introvigne A view of Askeran, Nagorno-Karabakh, one of the cities where the police raided gatherings of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. ![]()
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