Resolution of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the results of the audit of the implementation of the ECHR judgments on the complaints "Jehovah's Witnesses of Moscow v. the Russian Federation" and "Krupko and Others v. the Russian Federation"

"A committee composed of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Council of Europe and overseeing the implementation of ECHR judgments has called on Russia to lift the ban on Jehovah's Witnesses organizations."

Resolution of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe of October 1, 2020 on the results of supervision of the execution of the European Court’s judgments on applications Jehovah’s Witnesses of Moscow and Others and Krupko and Others v. Russian Federation

Source

CM/Del/ Dec( 2020)1383/H46-17

1 October 2020

1383rd meeting, 29 September – 1 October 2020 (DH)

H46-17 Jehovah’s Witnesses of Moscow and Others (Application No. 302/02) and Krupko and Others (Application No. 26587/07) v. Russian Federation

Supervision of the execution of the European Court’s judgments

Reference document

CM/Notes/1383/H46-17

Decisions

The Deputies

1. recalled that the case of Jehovah’s Witnesses of Moscow and Others concerns the dissolution of the applicant religious community entailing a ban on its activities, as well as the unreasoned refusal to allow its
re-registration and the excessive length of the dissolution proceedings, and that the case of Krupko and Others concerns the dispersal of a peaceful religious ceremony by law-enforcement agents and the subsequent deprivation of liberty of some of its participants at a police station for some three hours;

2. further recalled their previous decisions adopted in respect of these two cases noting the progress achieved in 2004-2015 but also the serious concerns at the effects of the new blanket ban imposed in 2017 and stressed that freedom of religion constitutes one of the foundations of a democratic society;

3. deeply regretted the continuing objection by the authorities to the Committee’s examination of the 2017 ban and its consequences, and reiterated yet …

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