Jehovah’s Witnesses: When will the UN halt Putin’s descent into terrorism

RUSSIA – The United Nation(UN) has become a rallying point for resolution of conflict all over the world. It is for this reason that nations often refer or look up to the UN  to speak up when there are serious issues of violations relative to the UN Declaration of Humanrights to which all 195 member states including Russia swore to uphold. 

Article 2 of the Declaration states that  “everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status”, the article said and that no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 5 of the Declaration states that “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, while Article 9 says no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

In addition, Article 12 made it clear that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his HONOUR and reputation  and that everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 18 of the Declaration states that “everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance”, while  Article 30 made it very clear that nothing in the Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

No doubt, these Declaration are well thought out and should enthrone a world where civility rules if every nation that subscribes is forced, persuaded to live by it or be faced with dire consequences like expulsion from the UN. Indeed most nations of the world have complied with the Declaration, especially the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Japan.

But the same cannot be said of Russia, under the current leadership of Vladimir Putin. If for anything, Russia has observed articles in the Declaration in the breach and has today metamorphosed into a terrorist nation based on its record of religious intolerance.  

In July, Russia liquidated properties belonging to Jehovah’s Witnesses as part of clampdown on their religious activities.

In August 2017,  Russia added Jehovah’s Witnesses to organisations banned within the state , a clear breach of article 2 and 18 of the UN Declaration of Humanrights. Russia achieved this by hiding under the law prohibiting extremist activities, a development that attracted public condemnation.

As if that was not enough, Russia under President Vladimir Putin, went a step further to impose a ban https://starconnectmedia.com/one-jw-killed-in-finland-as-russia-ignores-own-law-bans-holy-bible/ on the Holy Bible againsts its own laws. 

Since 2017,  Vladimir Putin has continued to unleash his security agencies on Jehovah’s Witnesses,  subjecting them to terror of immense proportion, violating articles of the UN Declaration. 

Under the Putin’s command, Russian agents invaded Kingdom Halls, where Jehovah’s Witnesses meet for worship, carting away publications. Since then, no day passes without reports of security agencies  torturing and terrorising Jehovah’s Witnesses, who are known worldwide for their peaceful disposition. 

For Instance on February 6, 2020, in a penal colony in Orenburg, Russia, prison guards severely beat up with clubs five  members of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Those affected are Aleksey Budenchuk, Gennadiy German, Roman Gridasov, Feliks Makhammadiyev, and Aleksey Miretskiy. 

Feliks Makhammadiyev was hospitalized after experiencing a broken rib, a punctured lung, as well as damage to his kidney. While Aleksey Budenchuk, Genndiy German, Roman Gridasov, and Aleksey Miretskiy, were sent to a punishment cell fabricated charges.

Late in the evening of February 10, 2020, law enforcement officers abducted  Vadim Kutsenko and tortured him in the forest, demanding that he give them information about other  members of Jehovah’s Witnesses. 

The officers repeatedly beat and choked them. They also applied electric shocks on him in a bid to force out information. This has been a daily occurence in Russia, with state officers raiding homes, arresting and detaining all those who claim to be Jehovah’s Witnesses in breach of articles in the UN Declaration of Humanrights. 

For continued violation of the rights of the Jehovah’s Witnesses,  rights organisations believe that only the UN can act now to put Vladimr Putin and the Russian Federation in check.

Chairman, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, Senator Roger Wicker explained that Russia’s failure to respect religious freedom is yet another inexcusable violation of Moscow’s OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] commitments.

“People who practice their faith peacefully should never be in danger of being harassed, fined, or jailed.., ” he said.

Disrurbed by the development, a former Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Michael Georg Link said he is deeply concerned by this unwarranted criminalization of the peaceful activities of members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Already, the  Permanent Council of the OSCE has adopted a statement from the European Union (EU), calling on Russia to allow Jehovah’s Witnesses to “be able to peacefully enjoy freedom of assembly without interference, as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation as well as by Russia’s international commitments and international human rights standards.