They say the Holy Spirit is not a person but is Jehovah’s active force or energy.īecause they say that Jesus is a demi-god, their understanding of salvation and atonement is wrong. They say Jesus was created ( Arianism), that He was Michael the archangel, and that Jesus’ body was not resurrected it simply disappeared and He rose as a spirit creature. They fail to grasp how the three Persons comprise the One Being of God, and so they come up with the idea of a Big God and a little god-two gods. They actually agree with the Trinity doctrine when it says that the Father and the Son are two Persons, but they imagine they need to prove this to Trinitarians. They say the doctrine of the Trinity is a pagan teaching, but they misrepresent it, saying that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit must be three gods. The fundamental doctrinal issue that distinguishes them from orthodox Christianity is the Trinity. The USCIRF report indicated that the provisions and policies aimed at protecting people and national security are used to sanction people for their religious manifestation.Jehovah’s Witnesses say they are the only true Christians, but they are neither Protestant nor Catholic. However, in recent years, non-Muslim religious groups have also appeared on the radar of the Russian anti-extremism law, including Jehovah’s Witnesses, Scientologists and other religious groups “traditionally disapproved of” by the Russian Orthodox Church. The number of incarcerated Jehovah’s Witnesses speaks for itself. This definition of extremism under Russian law is too vague to ever ensure legal certainty.Īs observed by a recent United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report, this gives Russian authorities “ wide latitude to interfere in peaceful religious observance and persecute believers.” The USCIRF report identifies Muslims as the main group targeted by the anti-extremism legislation.
114-FZ “On Combating Extremist Activity”, extremism is defined as “propaganda of exclusivity, superiority or inferiority of a person on the basis of their religious affiliation or attitude toward religion.” Despite the fact that the intention behind the provision was to address incitement of hatred (conductive of terrorism), the law is overly broad, leaving too much scope for interpretation that may cover virtually any activity. How has peaceful worship turned into an activity of an extremist organization? Is there such a thin line between the two?Īccording to a Federal law passed on July 25, 2002, No. Furthermore, the ruling pronounced that the “property of the liquidated religious organization remaining once creditors’ demands have been satisfied” to be turned over to the Russian Federation.Īs a result of the decision of April 2017, Sergey Skrynnikov was arrested and convicted of participating in the activity of an extremist organization under Article 282.2(2) and made subject to a fine of the equivalent of $5,348.00.
#JEHOVAH WITNESS MEANING CODE#
For example, Article 282.2 criminalizes the act of organising the activity of an extremist community with Subsection (1) concerning “organizing the activity of a non-governmental or religious association or other organization that due to its extremist activity was liquidated or had its activity banned by a court decision that has entered legal force, with the exception of organizations declared terrorist under Russian Federation legislation”, and Subsection (2) “Participating in the activity of a non-governmental or religious association or other organization that due to its extremist activity was liquidated or had its activity banned by a court decision that has entered legal force, with the exception of organizations declared terrorist under Russian Federation legislation.” Furthermore, Article 282.2, Subsection (1.1.) criminalizes the act of “persuading, recruiting, or otherwise inducing a person to participate in the activity of an extremist organization.”Īnd indeed, on April 20, 2017, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation adopted a ruling that liquidated the Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Solnechnoye and 395 Local Religious Organizations (LROs) used by Jehovah’s Witnesses throughout Russia. In doing so, the Russian Supreme Court opened the door to charges under Article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code against (virtually) any members of the LROs (used by over 175,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia). All of the charges relate to Article 280 and 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code. This includes men and women in pretrial detention or under house arrest. Indeed, in early May 2019, there were 186 Jehovah’s Witnesses facing criminal charges for practicing their faith in Russia.
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