THIRD SECTION
CASE OF TAGANROG LRO AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA
(Applications nos. 32401/10 and 19 others – see appended list)
JUDGMENT
Art 9 (read in light of Art 11) ● Art 10 ● Freedom of religion ● Freedom to impart information ● Forced dissolution of a Jehovah’s Witnesses’ (JW) local religious organisation (LRO) ● Declaration of JW’ publications as “extremist” ● Not “prescribed by law” and necessary in democratic society
Art 10+11 (read in light of Art 9) ● Freedom of expression ● Freedom of association ● Domestic courts’ failure to provide relevant and sufficient reasons and to uphold adversarial nature of proceedings when declaring JW’ publications “extremist” and prosecuting individual JW applicants ● No balancing exercise conducted by domestic courts for dissolution of a LRO for using those publications
Art 10 (read in light of Art 9) ● Freedom to impart and receive information ● Withdrawal of distribution permit and prosecution of JW for distributing unregistered media ● Declaration of JW’ international website as “extremist” ● Neither “prescribed by law” nor necessary in democratic society
Art 9 (read in light of Art 11) ● Dissolution of JW’ Administrative Centre and LROs ● Policy of intolerance by authorities ● Failure to act in good faith and breach of State’s duty of neutrality and impartiality
Art 9 ● Art 5 ● Arbitrary criminal prosecution of applicants for continuing to practice their religion ● Unlawful pre-trial detention of individual applicant
Art 1 P1 ● Peaceful enjoyment of possessions ● No legal basis for seizure of publications, immovable and personal property
Art 46 • Individual measures • Respondent state required to take measures to secure the discontinuation of pending criminal proceedings against JW and release of all imprisoned JW
STRASBOURG
7 June 2022
This judgment will become final in the circumstances set out in Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Taganrog LRO and …