ECtHR obliges Armenia to pay compensation under claim of Jehovah's Witnesses

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) collected from the Armenian authorities 124,000 euros in favour of representatives the religious organization Jehovah's Witnesses, who challenged at the European Court their imprisonment for refusing the alternative military service.

The European Court of Human Rights was contacted by 19 members of the religious organization Jehovah's Witnesses, who in 2005 reported their refusals to carry out their duties to the administrations of the institutions, were they were sent for alternative military service. They explained their refusals by the fact that persons on the alternative military service formal obeyed to the Ministry of Defence and, therefore, were actually members of the armed forces, and that fact contradicted their beliefs.

Armenia, being a member of the Council of Europe, is committed to provide a purely civilian replacement of compulsory military service for those persons, whose beliefs do not allow taking up arms. However, in Armenia, the alternative service is still controlled by the armed forces, and that fact makes it incompatible with religious beliefs. This was noted by the report of the human rights organization "Amnesty International", dated January 16, 2008.

Criminal cases were instituted against 19 Jehovah's Witnesses, who refused the alternative service, and during the investigation, the complainants were took in custody. Later, the criminal cases were closed; however, the Jehovah's Witnesses appealed to the ECtHR, finding that their detention was unlawful, since they did not commit ant crimes, the "RAPSI" (Russian Agency of Legal and Judicial Information) reports.

The ECtHR agreed with the arguments of the complainants and found that the Armenian authorities violated Article 5 (right to liberty and security of person) of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the "News-Armenia" reports.