# Latest News from Russia

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Posted by J [J] on November 03, 1999 at 08:08:51 {eZOTANvCI6ehU3MO1aSEeFQE7AtTPE}:

This is copied from an email being circulate amongst the Witnesses right now. Two things to note:

1. Public violence against Witnesses by Church - My thoughts? Violence is wrong and the attackers should be punished severely.

2. Note the comments justifying the forwarding of the message.

Subject: FW: Latest in Russia

I checked it out and this is accurate, legit and really quite concerning. Might want to take a look. And no, for those who've already read November KM, this does not fall under the category of forwarded jokes, chain letters etc. nor is this someone's personal letter being forwarded. I checked the site on the net and it is legit and right out of the paper.
HUMAN RIGHTS WITHOUT FRONTIERS
International Secretariat
PRESS AND INFORMATION SERVICE
Section "Religious Intolerance and Discrimination"
October 20, 1999

Under :
GEORGIA/Jehovah's Witnesses : Jehovah's Witnesses mobbed HRWF International Secretariat (20.10.1999) - Website:
http://www.hrwf.net > - Email: info@hrwf.net > - On Sunday, October 17, 1999, 120 Jehovah's Witnesses were attacked by a mob of about 200 during a worship service in Tbilisi, Georgia. All in attendance at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, including women and children, were beaten with iron crosses and clubs. Twenty required hospital treatment. The mob was led by Bassillists, hard-line priests excommunicated from the Georgian Orthodox Church. A few escaped from the mob and reported the attack to two local police stations. Police refused to provide protection to Jehovah's Witnesses.
The Bassillists videotaped their own mob action and submitted copies of the tapes to local media. At least two television stations aired the tape and called for police action against the mob. On Monday, the victims filed complaints with the public prosecutor's office. Eight involved in the mob action have since been arrested.
Jehovah's Witnesses have been present in Georgia for decades and are legally registered.
Violence and harassment by nationalist extremists against Jehovah's Witnesses have escalated in recent months. In April, the political party "Georgia Above All!" and its leader Guram Sharadze, a member of the national parliament, filed a civil complaint against Jehovah's Witnesses. Customs problems and at least two physical attacks on Jehovah's Witnesses followed. In June, extremists disrupted the civil court proceedings, and one rogue priest burned the religious literature of Jehovah's Witnesses outside the court. Police have been pressured to harass Jehovah's Witnesses. The civil court action against Jehovah's Witnesses calls for determining whether the religious beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses are legitimate. On May 20, 1999, Georgia ratified the European Convention on Human Rights in order to gain admittance to the Council of Europe. The European Court of Human Rights has already determined that a judgment of religious beliefs by a secular court violates the European Convention. Further persecution is anticipated as the October 31 national election nears.

According to the Radio Free Europe (RFE) news network, the Georgian president condemned the attack on JW that took place three days ago:
This is the brief report:
GEORGIAN PRESIDENT CONDEMNS ATTACK ON JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES Eduard
Shevardnadze, Georgian NGOs, and a Tbilisi City official have all condemned
the 17 October assault on the Tbilisi offices of the Jehovah's Witnesses,
Caucasus Press reported two days later. A group of Georgian Christians who
support a priest excommunicated for his disagreements with the leadership of
the Georgian Orthodox Church broke into the offices, beat up several members
of that sect, and destroyed religious literature. Representatives of the
Georgian Patriarchy called on the country's leadership in July to ban
Jehovah's Witnesses, terming their activities "anti-state and
anti-national."
http://www.hri.org/news/balkans/rferl/1999/99-10-20.rferl.htmlPersecution

Follow Ups:

- *Latest News from Russia Al; 14:37:46 11/03/99 (0)
- *Latest News from Russia brettpa 09:18:05 11/03/99 (1)
  - **Latest News from Russia JWSnowballGrows 11:21:55 11/03/99 (0)
- *Latest News from Russia GetReadyLurkers 08:38:01 11/03/99 (1)
  - **Latest News from Russia J 09:22:37 11/03/99 (0)

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