ARMENIA TO PAY ~@112,000 TO 17 JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES
08/05/2013
YEREVAN, May 8 (RIA Novosti) – The Armenian government on Wednesday
allocated ~@112,000 ($145,226) to the Ministry of Justice to pay
damages and legal fees to 17 conscientious objectors in compliance with
a 2012 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, the government
press service said.
In 2004, 17 young male Armenian Jehovah’s Witnesses began performing
alternative civilian service. After a year, they refused to continue,
saying they could no longer serve under the control and supervision
of the military in good conscience.
The members of the international religious organization were arrested
and prosecuted. Some were held in pretrial detention for several
months, and 11 were eventually sentenced to prison terms from two to
three years.
The European court ruled that the criminal prosecutions and detentions
were illegal because in 2005, there was no law in Armenia that made
it a crime to abandon alternative civilian service.
The court held that Armenia violated the men’s right to liberty and
security as protected under Article 5 of the European Convention on
Human Rights.
Although the government later dropped the criminal charges against the
17 men, Armenia refused to compensate them for the unlawful criminal
prosecutions and detentions. The court therefore ordered Armenia to
pay compensation for moral damages and legal fees.
From: A. Papazian