Amarian: Being “oppressed” advantageous to Jehovah’s Witnesses

Being “oppressed” is quite advantageous to Jehovah’s Witnesses in Armenia, Alexander Amarian, Head of the Center for Aid and Rehabilitation of Victims of Destructive Cults, said at a press conference today.

We would remind you that Jehovah’s Witnesses sect filed a lawsuit to the European Court of Human Rights over the illegal arrests of sect members by Armenian law enforcers. ECHR ruled that Armenia should compensate the plaintiffs for the non-material damage within 3 months after the ruling took effect (until May 27, 2013).

A. Amarian said that in 2005, 25 members of the sect chose to do alternative service in various medical institutions, but the following day the members of the sect told the appropriate bodies that they decided to refuse alternative service, saying that those institutions are also under the jurisdiction of the army and for that reason doing service in such institutions contradicted their religious beliefs, after which they left their duty stations without permission.

According to Amarian, ECHR examined the issue of human rights and inviolability of person, not the issue of the sect.

The lawsuit to ECHR was filed by 17 members of Jehovah’s Witnesses on 31 March 2006.