Jehovah's Witnesses and Governments - Government Interactions - Other

Other

The European Court of Human Rights has defended the rights of Jehovah's Witnesses in many cases. For example:

• Bayatyan v. Armenia. Grand Chamber of ECHR affirms right to conscientious objection to military service.(Amnesty International. 7 July 2011) See Amnesty International Statement

• Efstratiou v. Greece (18 December 1996), Strasbourg 77/1996/696/888 (Eur. Ct. H.R.)
• Manoussakis and Others v. Greece (26 September 1996), Strasbourg 59/1995/565/651 (Eur. Ct. H.R.)
• Hoffmann v. Austria (23 June 1993), Strasbourg 15/1992/360/434 (Eur. Ct. H.R.)
• Kokkinakis v. Greece (25 May 1993), Strasbourg 3/1992/348/421 (Eur. Ct. H.R.)

Other cases between Jehovah's Witnesses and governments of various countries include:

• Canada: Quebec Court of Appeal case on "freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and expression" set aside town ordinance restricting Witness activity.
• Peru: Superior Court of Justice of Lambayeque in 2000 upheld right of Witness parents to control medical care of their children. A mother had been charged with neglect and endangerment for selecting successful non-blood medical treatment for her 10 year old son.
• Eritrea: Eritrean Witnesses were stripped of citizenship and basic human rights in 1994 and have since widely experienced loss of employment, refusal of medical treatment, refusal of identity documents, arrest for assembly, proselytizing, and conscientious objection, as well as imprisonment for upwards of a decade, in some cases.
• Rwanda: In 2005 the Presiding Judge of the Provincial Court in Ruhengeri ruled that Witnesses should not be imprisoned for refusing to bear arms in civil defense 'night patrols' since they were willing to participate and had participated in other forms of community service. 297 Witnesses had been imprisoned on such charges in an 8 month period of 2004. 143 of those imprisoned had been severely beaten.
• Nigeria: In 2001 the Nigerian Supreme court unanimously decided in favor of the Witness right to medical self-determination in the case of blood transfusion.
• Japan: The Supreme court in 2000 upheld the principle of "informed consent" with regard to a Witness patient's right to refuse a blood transfusion.

The Supreme court in 1996 upheld the right of Japanese Witness students to refuse martial arts training as part of physical education. Witnesses had been refused diplomas, forced to repeat a year of school, suspended and expelled based on their refusal to 'learn war.'

• South Korea: The Supreme Court in 2004 upheld 7-2 as constitutional the law regarding compulsory military service which has resulted in more than 10,000 Witnesses serving prison terms in South Korea. In April 2005 more than 1000 Witnesses were serving prison terms in South Korea based on their conscientious objection to military service. However, 7 of the court's 9 members, including 5 of those in the majority, expressed a recommendation that the legislature add an alternative service option to the statute.

Government officials in various countries, including Brazil, Burundi, Mexico, Mozambique, and Tuvalu have commended Jehovah's Witnesses for conducting literacy classes and for providing religious educational materials.