As European Federation for Freedom of Belief (FOB), being dedicated to advocating for freedom of religion and belief (FORB) and fostering mutual respect among humanity, express our heartfelt condolences to the Roman Catholic community and people of goodwill worldwide on the passing of Pope Francis. His Holiness leaves behind a profound legacy of compassion, inclusivity, and tireless efforts to promote interfaith dialogue, harmony, and peace beyond all traditional boundaries.

We are approaching the 8^th anniversary of the banning of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia 7 years ago, on 20 April 2017, actively advocated by the then FECRIS vice-president Aleksandr Dvorkin, an Orthodox ex-priest, lecturer in sect history and ‘sect expert’ for the Russian Ministry of Justice, thus accustomed to preaching and sermons both in church and university classrooms and in courtrooms. This year, with the approach of Easter, which in Hebrew means ‘passage’ (pesah), we witness Dvorkin's transition from friend of the FECRIS to enemy of it, as documented in the following article by Bitter Winter.

The saga of the MIVILUDES (Mission Interministerielle de Vigilance et de lutte contre les dérives sectarie) continues. Despite being ‘slapped down’ by the Paris Administrative Court, which ordered MIVILUDES in a ruling on 21 February 2025 to correct its publications due to ‘inaccurate or unverified information’, on 8 April 2025 – only a month and a half later – it published its new annual report in line with its modus operandi of stuffing the reported news with inaccurate or unverified information.

By now, that of the MIVILUDES (Mission Interministerielle de Vigilance et de lutte contre les dérives sectarie) can be considered a modus operandi that has been repeatedly proven even in court. To the age-old (and tedious) defamatory narrative of the MIVILUDES and its anti-cult acolytes against the Christian congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, recently revived in Italy by the TV programme Zona Bianca, and which - coincidence? - has seen precisely the Kingdom Hall in Via delle Camelie in Rome (the one shown during the Zona Bianca broadcast) the object of an attack, now the defamation of the ‘Malrevers Kibbutz’ and the ‘Interstyl Society’ is added.