Source:

Amnesty International: Religiously motivated violence against Jehovah's Witnesses [ID 5158]

"Auch während des Jahres 2001 wurden wieder zahlreiche Übergriffe auf Angehörige der Glaubensge-meinschaft der Zeugen Jehovas durch fanatische Anhänger der georgisch-orthodoxen Kirche bekannt. Zwar wurde im September 2001 gegen zwei mutmaßliche Drahtzieher der Übergriffe Anklage erhoben, jedoch nur wegen minderschwerer Vergehen. Die Polizei traf weiterhin in den meisten berichteten Fällen von Übergriffen keine Maßnahmen, um die Opfer solcher Angriffe zu schützen, beteiligte sich bisweilen sogar selbst an den Gewaltakten. Am 28. September 2001 etwa wurden nach Berichten Busse der Zeu-gen Jehovas außerhalb von Tiflis durch eine Straßenblockade radikaler Mitglieder der orthodoxen Kirche aufgehalten und die Businsassen, darunter Frauen und Kinder, mit Fausthieben, Fußtritten und Stöcken attackiert. Die anwesenden Polizeikräfte sollen dabei nicht zum Schutz der Zeugen Jehovas eingeschrit-ten sein."

Source:

Tageszeitung: Violent assaults on Jehovah's Witnesses by Orthodox Christians [ID 5166]

Source:

Amnesty International: Assaults on Jehovah’s Witnesses by fanatic adherents of the Georgian-Orthodox church [ID 5167]

18.09.2007 - Source: Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

On 2 November, building belonging to Jehovah’s Witnesses attacked with stones; organizer of the incident was jailed ("Hate Crimes in the OSCE Region: Incidents and Responses: Annual Report for 2006") [ID 22042]

"

In Georgia, on 2 November, about 50 people, including secondary-school teachers and pupils, gathered in front of a building belonging to Jehovah’s Witnesses and attacked it with stones. The organizer of the incident, who had already committed similar criminal acts against Jehovah’s Witnesses in the past, was jailed."

Document(s): Open document

14.09.2007 - Source: US Department of State

In June 2007 there were incidents of violence against members of Jehovah's Witnesses; Prosecutor General's Office began nine new investigations and obtained sentences in five earlier cases ("International Religious Freedom Report 2007") [ID 21228]

"In June 2007 there were incidents of violence directed against members of Jehovah's Witnesses. In one incident in the Gldani district of Tbilisi, police released a perpetrator detained by the victims when he and other unidentified individuals interfered with the distribution of religious literature by two members of the religious group in front of a meeting hall; the PGO investigation was ongoing at the end of the reporting period. At the same meeting hall, unidentified persons wrote graffiti and threw rocks in a series of events, leading to separate complaints. In Chkhorotsku the PGO opened a criminal investigation against V. Sichinava for inflicting verbal and physical abuse against two members of Jehovah's Witnesses on January 29, 2007. In all, the PGO began nine new investigations and obtained sentences in five earlier cases, all involving some form of harassment directed against members of Jehovah's Witnesses. The five cases involved at least eight complainants and five suspects. The courts issued sentences ranging from a fine to 5 years' imprisonment."

Document(s): Open document

05.2007 - Source: US Commission on International Religious Freedom

Courts have tried and sentenced only two perpetrators to prison in 12 violent mob attacks against religious minorities, according to Forum 18; Jehovah’s Witnesses are victims of most mob attacks; they turned to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ("Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom") [ID 20118]

"In October 2006, the news service Forum 18 reported that Georgian courts have tried and sentenced only nine perpetrators in 12 violent mob attacks against religious minorities, and only two of these defendants have received prison sentences. Jehovah’s Witnesses, the victims of most mob attacks in Georgia, have reportedly turned to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, where four of their cases are under consideration. Moreover, occasional mob attacks on religious minorities still occur. According to Forum 18, in September 2006 a hostile mob invaded and damaged a new religious and cultural center under construction by the Assyrian Catholic community in Tbilisi."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Jehovah's Witnesses no longer felt the need to hold their services in private homes for security reasons, but were still confronted with problems in getting venues for their meetings ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19518]

"While members of Jehovah's Witnesses no longer felt the need to hold their services in private homes for security reasons, delays in obtaining permits to build and occupy Kingdom Halls required congregations to continue meeting in private homes. […]  

In November 2005 members of Jehovah's Witnesses rented a hall in Rustavi to conduct meetings. Paata Bluashvili, the leader of the Orthodox group Jvari, and members of the group threatened the hall's owner, who then cancelled the contract with the Jehovah's Witnesses. Pending investigation of the incident, Bluashvili was held in pretrial detention. Upon Bluashvili's appeal of the three-month detention, a court of appeals overturned the detention and released him, pending trial. In April a Rustavi court reinstated the three-month sentence. Bluashvili failed to appear at the April hearing and at year's end was wanted by the authorities."

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

In order to hold conference at Tbilisi Sports Palace Jehovah`s Witnesses were asked to submit guarantee from state to provide security; this demand is viewed as discriminatory; renovations to Jehovah`s Witnesses house in Kutaisi were halted due to attacks by neighbours; at year`s end attacks were under investigation ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46144],  [ID 5149]

"On April 1, members of the Jehovah's Witnesses requested permission to use the Tbilisi Sports Palace for a two-day religious convention for up to five thousand persons. On April 18, the management of the Sports Palace responded that they would only be willing to accommodate such a convention if Jehovah's Witnesses obtained a guarantee from the state to provide security. Private companies usually provide security for such events, and representatives of the Jehovah's Witnesses complained it was a discriminatory demand. Instead, the Jehovah's Witnesses held the conference on their own property in Marneuli without disturbance. [...]
In June renovations to a Jehovah's Witnesses' meeting house in Kutaisi were halted due to attacks by angry neighbors. Victims in the attacks filed criminal complaints with authorities. Police were initially unresponsive to calls from the Jehovah's Witnesses reporting the attack, but an investigation was under way and pending at year's end. These attacks were accompanied by specific verbal threats against the Jehovah's Witnesses. Renovations to the meeting house were still halted at year's end. At about the same time as the attacks at the renovation site, the Jehovah's Witnesses were able to conduct a regular congress in the city without incident."

Document(s): Open document

08.11.2005 - Source: US Department of State

According to survey, 87 percent of society feel Jehovah`s Witnesses should be banned; case about refusal to register the group is pending before the European Court of Human Rights ("International Religious Freedom Report 2005") [#38872],  [ID 5150]

For more instances refer to the original document

"Some politicians used the supremacy of the GOC in their platforms and criticized some Protestant groups, particularly evangelical groups, as subversive. Jehovah's Witnesses in particular were the targets of their derogatory comments.
[…]
A 2001 Supreme Court ruling revoking the registration of Jehovah's Witnesses, on the grounds that the law does not allow for registration of religious organizations, continues to restrict the group's ability to rent premises for services and import literature. The revocation resulted from a 1999 court case brought by former M.P. Sharadze seeking to ban the group on the grounds that it presented a threat to the State and the GOC. Although the Supreme Court emphasized that its ruling was based on technical legal grounds and was not to have the effect of banning the group, many local law enforcement officials interpreted the Supreme Court's ruling as a ban and have used it as a justification not to protect members of Jehovah's Witnesses from attacks by religious extremists. A case brought by Jehovah's Witnesses before the European Court of Human Rights challenging this annulment was pending at the end of the period covered by this report.
[…]
In response to a June 2005 survey conducted by a reputable polling organization, 73 percent responded that Jehovah's Witnesses create serious problems for society and 87 percent felt the group should be banned.
[…]
In July 2004 in Ozurgeti, an employee of the local Mayor's office verbally and physically threatened two representatives of the Jehovah's Witnesses who were proselytizing door-to-door. Although the victims filed a complaint with the local Prosecutor's Office and Mayor's Office, no charges were brought. In November 2004, a Jehovah's Witness representative was threatened several times for using his house to hold worship services in Kareli. In one incident, unknown persons broke the door to his house and stole a tape recorder. In June 2005, renovations to a Jehovah's Witnesses' meeting house in Kutaisi were halted due to attacks by angry neighbors. Victims in the attacks have filed criminal complaints with authorities and an investigation is underway. These attacks were accompanied by specific verbal threats against the Jehovah's Witnesses clearly motivated by 'not in my back yard' sentiments. At about the same time as the attacks at the renovation site, the Jehovah's Witnesses conducted a regular congress in Kutaisi without incident."

Document(s): Open document

30.08.2005 - Source: Amnesty International

Since beginning of 2004 only few reports on assaults against members of non-traditional religious communities (Jehovah's witnesses in present case) (expert opinion, in German) ("Stellungnahme vom 30.8.2005 an VG Meiningen - 8 K 20701/03.Me -") [#36480],  [ID 5151]

Document(s): Open document

23.04.2004 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Jehovah’s Witnesses Watchtower Bible Society was able to restore its legal status as a non-commercial organization on 28 November 2003 ("Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2004 (Events of 2003)") [#21453],  [ID 5152]

"On a positive note, the Jehovah’s Witnesses Watchtower Bible Society was able to restore its legal status as a non-commercial organization on 28 November"

Document(s): Open document
Open document

23.04.2004 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Many religious minority groups were not permitted to import religious literature, including Baptists, Pentecostals, Lutherans, Muslims and Jehovah's Witnesses ("Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2004 (Events of 2003)") [#21453],  [ID 5153]

"Moreover, lacking legal status, many religious minority groups were not permitted to import religious literature. Complaints were received from Baptists, Pentecostals, Lutherans, Muslims and Jehovah's Witnesses. Local authorities frequently stated that the minority communities would need permission from local Orthodox officials despite the fact that there was no law to this effect. It was also alleged that there was an unwritten rule by Patriarch Ilya that customs officials were to ban the import of religious literature unless they had his express permission. In addition, corrupt customs officials often required bribes to the import religious materials. By the same token, as publishers refused to accept it without the blessing of the Orthodox Patriarchate, for example, the Salvation Army, True Orthodox Church, and Pentecostals faced such problems. In addition, it was believed that many publishers feared mob violence should they agree to print literature for religious minorities.

Religious minorities had virtually no access to state or private media to inform the public about their activities."

Document(s): Open document
Open document

24.02.2004 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Report focused on religious intolerance, freedom of assembly and expression, torture in prisons and the situation of internally displaced, refugees and Meskhetian refugees ("Agenda for Reform: Human Rights Priorities after the Georgian Revolution") [#19671],  [ID 5154]

"Throughout the last four years, religious intolerance and violent attacks on adherents of non-traditional religious groups, such as Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Evangelists, and Pentacostals, by organized groups of Orthodox vigilantes became a serious problem in Georgia. In most cases police failed to provide effective protection to the victims of violence, and in some, even participated in the attacks. As the state failed to respond adequately, mob attacks became steadily more frequent and pervasive, spreading from Tbilisi to many other regions throughout Georgia. The Shevardnadze government also failed to take significant action against hate speech directed against religious minorities. These included the frequent public and widely broadcasted fulminations by Vasili Mkalavishvili, the leader of many of the violent attacks, in which he incited violence against these minorities. There were no reports of incidents of violence against religious minorities since the lead-up to the November 2 parliamentary elections.27 However, many fear that it will return unless the new government clearly signals that perpetrators of such attacks will be prosecuted."

Document(s): Open document

08.2003 - Source: Human Rights Center

Episode of moral, physical, and property abuse of Jehovah’s Witnesses ("Monthly Bulletin No 8 (54), August 2003") [#15124],  [ID 5155]

"Action against the Patriotic union “Cross” was brought in Rustavi court by the law-enforcement officials four months ago refering to the seventh episode of moral, physical, and property abuse of Jehovah’s Wit-nesses.

According to the appeal “Cross” representatives exaggerated their rights. They do not consider themselves guilty, however, and state that Jehovah’s Witnesses often brought such goods in Rustavi which were not the same as their materials.

According to Paata Bluashvili, the Head of “Cross,” the incidences of pressure by Jehovah’s Witnesses on the population are very frequent and this is confirmed by numerous applications. He also mentioned that 12 000 such applications are sent to public defender’s office from Rustavi."

Document(s): Open document

22.07.2003 - Source: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

Statements of interview partners with regard to the situation of Jehovah's Witnesses ("Reisebericht Georgien 18. - 25. Mai 2003") [#14436],  [ID 5156]

"Die aufgrund aggressiven Missionierens von der georgischen Bevölkerung angefeindete Gemeinde der Zeugen Jehovas umfasse nach Kenntnis der „Ehemalige politische Gefangene für Menschenrechte“ derzeit ca. 20.000 MitgliederInnen, während die UNAG von 200.000 ausgehe.
Grundsätzlich würden Sekten laut der Repräsentantin des Büros der Volksanwältin nur als soziale Organisationen, nicht aber als religiöse Gemeinschaften registriert werden.31 Dies habe beispielsweise zur Folge, dass Steuern und Abgaben gezahlt werden müssten. Die einzige nicht registrierungspflichtige Glaubensgemeinschaft, der als Kirche und nicht etwa als Verein Rechtspersönlichkeit zukomme, sei die georgisch-orthodoxe Kirche.
Über detaillierte Angaben zu Übergriffen von Privatpersonen auf Anhänger nichttraditioneller Konfessionsgemeinschaften verfüge man zwar nicht, dennoch könne man nach Ansicht der Repräsentantin des Büros der Volksanwältin davon ausgehen, dass in solchen Fällen keine Sanktionen gegen die Täter verhängt würden. Überhaupt würden sich die Exekutivorgane in Fällen religiös motivierter Gewalt sehr passiv verhalten und die Täter hätten wohl nur mit einer Verwarnung zu rechnen („ don’t do it again“). Sollte es dennoch zu einer Anzeige kommen, laute diese wahrscheinlich auf Hooliganismus oder Störung der öffentlichen Ordnung.
Das mitunter aggressive Missionieren der Zeugen Jehovas, unter anderem die Verteilung von humanitären Hilfsgütern bzw. Medikamenten, trage laut der Repräsentantin des Büros der Volksanwältin wesentlich zur Entstehung und Festigung der gesellschaftlichen Ressentiments gegenüber den Zeugen Jehovas bei.
Nicht zuletzt aufgrund der skeptischen Haltung der Bevölkerung gegenüber allem Neuen, seien Zeugen Jehovas nach Aussage der Repräsentantin des Büros der Volksanwältin gesellschaftlich nicht akzeptiert. Darüber hinaus soll es vorgekommen sein, dass Personen, die Zeugen Jehovas in ihr Haus gelassen hatten, später von ihren Nachbarn damit bedroht wurden, ihre Häuser in Brand zu setzen.
Nach Angaben des Informations – und Dokumentationszentrums für Menschenrechte (HRIDC), gebe es Anzeichen dafür, dass Politiker extremistische Gruppen und die Verfolgung religiöser Minderheiten, hier vor allem die Zeugen Jehovas, unterstützten. Dabei sei weniger von einem aktiven Beitrag zu sprechen, sondern der mangelnde staatliche Schutz für Minderheiten in Betracht zu ziehen. So habe der Polizei ihrer Erkenntnis nach beispielsweise einmal ein Hinweis auf einen von Mkalavishvili und seiner Gruppe geplanten Übergriff auf eine Versammlung von Zeugen Jehovas vorgelegen; von Seiten der Polizei wären allerdings keine Schritte eingeleitet worden.
Bei einigen GesprächspartnerInnen wurde allerdings der Eindruck erweckt, dass der Schutzwille der Polizei stark von der Einstellung der Allgemeinbevölkerung gegenüber den Zeugen Jehovas abhinge. Sowohl die Helsinki Citizens Assembly als auch die MitarbeiterInnen der „Ehemalige politische Gefangene für Menschenrechte“ gehen davon aus, dass die Polizei Mitglieder der Zeugen Jehovas aktiv vor religiös motivierten Übergriffen schützen würden, sollte das in der Gesellschaft als populär angesehen werden. Nach Ansicht der UNAG sei in diesem Zusammenhang auch zu bedenken, dass man sich im Wahljahr befinde und allein aus diesem Grund jede unpopulär erscheinende Maßnahme seitens der Regierung vermieden werden solle.
Dem Gesprächspartner einer namentlich nicht genannten Quelle nach zu urteilen, stellten die Zeugen Jehovas heutzutage keine Minderheit mehr da. Seitens der georgischen Bevölkerung werde ihnen allerdings keine Sympathie entgegengebracht. So habe vor allem ihre Weigerung Blut zu spenden, einige Male das Leben von Kindern gekostet und in der Folge großen Unmut in der Bevölkerung hervorgerufen.
Zeugen Jehovas genössen durchaus den Schutz der Polizei. Auch habe es in der Vergangenheit vor Gericht für Zeugen Jehovas wiederholt positive Entscheidungen gegeben. Nach Angaben der UNAG könnten Berichte über Massenkonversionen – vor allem in ländlichen Regionen, in denen die Zeugen Jehovas ihre missionarischen Aktivitäten intensiviert hätten – bestätigt werden. Später seien ganze Dörfer von Mkalavishvili und seiner Gefolgschaft bzw. Anhängern der vor allem in Rustavi aktiven Jvari-Gruppe bedroht worden.32 Großen Zulauf fänden die Zeugen Jehovas auch in den Armenvierteln von Tbilisi (z.B. im Stadtteil Gldani)."

Document(s): Open document

05.03.2002 - Source: Schweizerische Flüchtlingshilfe

SFH: Attacks by members of the Orthodox Church on Jehovah's Witnesses; often without intervention by security forces ("Lageanalyse Februar 2002") [#8057],  [ID 5159]

"Seit 1999 kommt es wiederholt zu "pogromartigen Überfällen" durch Angehörige der georgisch-
orthodoxen Kirche (häufig in Begleitung und mit Unterstützung von Polizeibeamten)
auf Zeugen Jehovas ohne das die Täter zur Rechenschaft gezogen werden. In Georgien soll
es etwa 14‘000 Zeugen Jehovas geben.
Die Zeugen Jehovas wandten sich schon mehrmals an den Europäischen Gerichtshof für
Menschenrechte in Strassburg wegen Verletzung der Religionsfreiheit in Georgien. So zogen
sie u.a. im August 2001 das Urteil des Obersten Gerichtes in Tiflis nach Strassburg
weiter, damit die Registrierung zweier ihrer Gemeinschaften ermöglicht wird. Begründung
in Tiflis war, in Georgien sei noch kein "Religionsgesetz" erlassen worden. Die Zeugen Jehovas
berufen sich auf die Europäische Menschenrechtskonvention, die Präzedenzfälle des
Europäischen Gerichtshofes und die internationalen Verpflichtungen Georgiens, die alle die
Vereinsfreiheit garantieren. Diese schliesst auch das Recht der religiösen Gemeinschaften
ein, als juristische Personen aufzutreten. Die Entscheidung des Obersten Gerichtes kommt
praktisch einem Verbot der Zeugen Jehovas gleich. Das Urteil wurde von orthodoxen Extremisten
offensichtlich als "Eröffnung der Jagdsaison" interpretiert. Seither kam es zu
zahllosen gewalttätigen Attacken gegen die Zeugen Jehovas. Ihre Klagen werden – trotz
erdrückender Beweise – von Polizei und Staatsanwaltschaft routinemässig abgewiesen."

Document(s): Open document

22.01.2002 - Source:

Watchtower.org: Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses; police participation ("22/01/2002 - Watchtower.org: Religious Persecution in Georgia") [ID 5161]

Document(s): 22/01/2002 - Watchtower.org: Religious Persecution in Georgia

16.01.2002 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch: Jehovah's Witnesses reported more than forty attacks on their adherents in the first half of the year ("World report 2002") [#5312],  [ID 5163]

"Vasili Mkalavishvili, a defrocked Georgian Orthodox priest who led most of the attacks, justified them by claiming that charismatic faiths were defiling Georgia's nationhood and religious tradition. He boasted of receiving assistance from the police and security services. Emboldened by the inaction or complicity of prosecutors and police, and by a February Supreme Court decision to deregister the Jehovah's Witnesses as a legal entity in Georgia, the frequency of mob attacks rose in 2001. The Jehovah's Witnesses reported more than forty attacks on their adherents in the first half of the year. Police failed to protect endangered worshippers and in at least one case, played an active role in the attacks. Police on February 27 forced open a gate to a courtyard in Tbilisi where several hundred Jehovah's Witnesses had been worshipping, allowing Mkalavishvili and his followers to rush in and beat the congregants with clubs, large crosses, and Bibles."

Document(s): Open document

19.12.2001 - Source: Amnesty International

Amnesty International: Police allegedly support attack on Jehovah's Witnesses ("Georgia: Appeal cases") [#5054],  [ID 5164]

"In February 2001 radical supporters of the Georgian Orthodox Church attacked a congregation of around 300 Jehovah's Witnesses that was gathering for a religious meeting in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. The Jehovah's Witnesses report that a number of their members were beaten by the radical Orthodox Church supporters who were led by defrocked Georgian Orthodox priest named Basil Mkalavishvili, and furthermore that they were aided, and joined, in the attack by some police officers. [...]
Complaints lodged by the Jehovah's Witnesses against Basil Mkalavishvili after an attack on a congregation in October 1999 are still being investigated and no criminal proceedings against him have yet come to court."

Document(s): Open document

02.10.2001 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch: Goup of Jehovah's Witnesses attacked; police failed to intervene ("Georgia: Challenge Shevardnadze on religious violence") [#4206],  [ID 5165]

"Human Rights Watch has received reports of three mob assaults on non-Orthodox Christian groups in the last week alone. On September 28, Georgian police reportedly stood aside to allow a mob of 100, armed with clubs and stones, to erect a roadblock on a highway leading out of the capital, Tbilisi. The mob stopped buses and cars transporting some 100 Jehovah’s Witnesses to a religious convention, dragged them out, kicked and beat them. They injured up to forty people, nearly a dozen of them seriously. The mob then attacked the convention site in the town of Marneuli, ransacking and burning property, injuring more people, and firing shots into the air. Police not only failed to intervene to stop the assaults, but allegedly confiscated film and a video camera from Jehovah’s Witnesses, and verbally derided them. [...] On September 30, a group of approximately fourteen men reportedly attacked a Jehovah’s Witness prayer meeting in the town of Rustavi."

Document(s): 02129geo.htm
Open document

26.06.2001 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

IHF: Attacks on Jehovah's Witnesses during 2000 ("Religious intolerance in selected OSCE countries in 2000") [#2289],  [ID 5162]

"At the initiative of MP Guram Sharadze, the Tbilisi Regional Court revoked the legal status of Jehovah’s
Witnesses in Georgia on 26 June. On appeal, the Supreme Court was to decide whether to cancel or
uphold the registration, but the decision was adjourned until January 2001.
Most attacks against Jehovah’s Witnesses were reported from the Gldani district, in a suburb of Tbilisi,
where a Georgian Orthodox priest known as Father Basili formed a group named the Gldani Orthodox
Diocese. The group was apparently not formally recognised by the Georgian Orthodox Church, and its
members espoused ultra-nationalist views, and were especially virulent in their intolerance of non-
Orthodox faiths. By the end of August, the group was responsible for at least eight attacks against
Jehovah's Witnesses and members of other faiths. The group stalked Jehovah's Witnesses and assaulted
them verbally and physically.
On 16-17 August 2000, Father Basili’s group attacked dozens of individuals. On 16 August, they
attacked journalists and Jehovah's Witnesses during a trial, assaulting and beating RFE/RL
correspondent Sozar Subeliani. Canadian human rights lawyer John Burns, who was monitoring
the trial, was dragged to the ground and struck with a large wooden cross. Some 80 members of
the group present shouted insults, and threatened and assaulted spectators and Jehovah's
Witnesses seated in the courtroom. On the following day, about 40 followers of Father Basili
assaulted human rights defenders and a journalist as they left the trial they had been monitoring.
· On 17 October 2000, 120-150 members of Father Basili's congregation assaulted worshipers at a
Jehovah's Witnesses service in Guldani District beating, kicking and punching them. At least 16
individuals required hospital treatment, one suffered permanent injuries. Footage of the incident,
taped by the attackers themselves, was later broadcast on the Rustavi 2 and Channel 2 news
programs.
In early September 2000, violent attacks on Jehovah’s Witnesses spread to Western Georgia.
· On 3 September, Jehovah’s Witnesses were attacked by an armed group in two cities in the
western part of the Republic of Georgia, Senaki and Kutaisi. In Kutaisi, two police officers were
involved in the attack. Yura Papava, a resident of Senaki, said that the congregation was meeting
peacefully in his home “when suddenly a man entered the house and demanded to know what we
were doing and what we were teaching. Without waiting for an answer, he and five or six other
men started smashing the furniture."
The Georgian Parliament condemned the violence on 26 September. A total of 133,162 people, most of
them Georgian Orthodox, signed a petition protesting the mob violence. As the petition was being
presented at a press conference at the Georgian Ombudsman’s Office on 22 January 2001, Father Basili
and his followers burst into the room and seized the volumes of the petition and verbally and physically
abused the persons present."

Document(s): Open document
01282.pdf

26.02.2001 - Source: UN Human Rights Committee

UN Human Rights Committee: Religious intolerance and harassment of religious minorities, particularly Jehovah's Witnesses, increased ("Second periodic report submitted by a State party pursuant to article 40 of the Covenant; Georgia [CCPR/C/GEO/2000/2]") [#49455],  [ID 5160]

"17. The Committee notes with deep concern the increase in the number of acts of religious intolerance and harassment of religious minorities of various creeds, particularly Jehovah's Witnesses."

Document(s): State report
Concluding observations of 19 April 2002 [CCPR/CO/74/GEO]