Armenian authorities ready to pay 112,000 euros to Jehovah's Witnesses under ECtHR's decision

The Armenian government has decided to pay 112,000 euros to members of the religious community of Jehovah's Witnesses, who had won the case at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

In November 2012, the ECtHR ruled to collect 112,000 euros from the Armenian authorities in favour of the religious organization "Jehovah's Witnesses", which had appealed against detention of its believers for refusing to continue their alternative army service under the pretext that the alternative service was also under control of military structures.

Armenia has to pay 6000 euros to each of the 17 applicants as compensation of moral harm, plus 10,000 euros to all of them for their costs and expenses, said the definition of the ECtHR of November 27, 2012, on the case "Khachatryan et al. versus Armenia".

The decision further said that in total 19 persons had applied to the ECtHR; however, complaints of two of them had been considered non-eligible.

The above money will be paid to Jehovah's Witnesses from the reserve fund of the government of Armenia. This decision was adopted by the government at their sitting on May 8, the "Echo of the Caucasus" reports.

The "Tert.am" explains that the decision of the ECtHR came into force on February 27 this year; it should be fulfilled by Armenian authorities before May 27.