Letter to the authorities of the Czech Republic about the announced liquidation of Jehovah’s Witnesses
This letter was sent (in Czech) to
the President of the Czech Republic
the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
the Minister of Culture and the Department of Churches and Religious Associations
the Minister of Justice
the Minister of Foreign Affairs
___________________________
We, the undersigned, are scholars in religious studies who have been monitoring the teachings and the practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses for many years
Dr Milda ALIŠAUSKIENĖ (Lithuania), Prof. at the Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Department of Sociology/ Faculty of Social Sciences
Dr Eileen BARKER (United Kingdom), Professor Emeritus of Sociology with Special Reference to the Study of Religion, London School of Economics & Political Science
Dr Christian BRÜNNER (Austria), Professor Emeritus for Public Law, University of Graz
Dr George CHRYSSIDES (United Kingdom), Honorary Research Fellow, York St John University (UK), and former president of the International Society for the Study of New Religions
Dr Regis DERICQUEBOURG (France), Member of the Group for the Study of Religions and Secularity at the National Center for the Scientific Studies in Paris
Dr Effie FOKAS (Greece), Senior Research Fellow, Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), Athens
Dr Liudmyla FYLYPOVYCH (Ukraine), President of the Ukrainian Association of the Researchers of Religion (UARR), Professor, Kyiv
Dr Massimo INTROVIGNE (Italy), Managing Director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR)
Dr Karolina Maria KOTKOWSKA (Poland), Assistant Professor in the Centre for Comparative Studies of Civilisations at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow
Dr Mario MARINOV (Bulgaria), Head of Department of Sociology, Associate Professor, South-West University "Neofit Rilski"
Dr Bernadette RIGAL-CELLARD (France), Professor Emeritus, University Bordeaux Montaigne
Dr Thomas SCHIRRMACHER (Germany), President, International Institute for Religious Freedom, Bonn, Germany, EO Professor of the Sociology of Religion, State University of the West, Timisoara
Dr Richard SINGELENBERG (Netherlands), Independent scholar
Dr Rik TORFS (Belgium), Former Senator, Honorary Rector Catholic University of Leuven
The Czech Ministry of Culture, Prague. Credits
We want to express our deep concerns about the intention of the Head of the department for religious affairs under the Ministry of Culture to deregister the religious association of Jehovah’s Witness on the following grounds
- refusing blood transfusion for minors
- damaging the social ties of individuals and their family members
We wonder if you have consulted the Venice Commission, the OSCE/ ODIHR and the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief before starting such a serious procedure.
We also want to bring the following points to your attention:
Blood transfusion and minors
There is not a single court decision in the Czech Republic against Jehovah’s Witnesses on the question of blood transfusion and minors.
Jehovah’s Witnesses’ right to request alternatives to blood transfusion have been upheld by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) (PINDO MULLA v. SPAIN, 17 September 2024).
This practice based on their religious beliefs was also addressed in Jehovah’s Witnesses of Moscow and Others v. Russia, no. 302/02, 10 June 2010 “132 … [by refusing blood transfusion] Jehovah's Witnesses – just make a choice of medical procedures but still wish to get well and do not exclude treatment altogether”.
The alternatives to blood transfusions have proved to be efficient, also when treating minors [1]. In the rare event a hospital or a surgeon would deem it necessary to ignore the rejection of blood transfusion to a minor patient, the matter can be decided by a court. The Jehovah’s Witnesses parents will not object to such a court decision.
Social ties of individuals and their family members
A number of final high court decisions have ruled in favor of Jehovah’s Witnesses on their religious practice of limiting contact with former congregants in a number of Western countries, including Belgium [2], England [3], Germany [4], Ireland [5], Italy [6] and Poland [7]. The removal of members for religious reasons is a common practice among most religions that are registered in the Czech Republic with, at times, more severe consequences. Stigmatizing Jehovah’s Witnesses on that basis would not only be illegitimate but also discriminatory.
For these reasons, we urge you NOT to liquidate the association of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Footnotes
[1] ⬆︎ See for example: Lo BD, Pippa A, Sherd I, Scott AV, Thomas AJ, Hendricks EA, Ness PM, Chaturvedi S, Resar LMS, Frank SM. Clinical outcomes, blood utilization, and ethical considerations for pediatric patients in a bloodless medicine and surgery program. Anesth Analg 2024;138(2):465-74 at p. 473. [PMID: 38175737]
[2] ⬆︎ Court of Appeal of Gent (case no. 2021/N17625, judgment of 7 June 2022
[3] ⬆︎ Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales ([2019] EWHC 1349 (Q.B.D.), judgment of 7 June 2019
[ [4] ⬆︎The Administrative Court of Berlin case no. VG 27 K 79.10, decision of 11 December 2012
[5] ⬆︎The Supreme Court (case no. 95/2006, judgment of 19 October 2007
[6] ⬆︎Supreme Court of Cassation case no. 9561, section no. 1 n 13 April 2017
[7] ⬆︎The Torun Regional Court case no. IC 1093/18, judgment of 14 March 2019
Source: HRWF
