2023

FECRIS stands for European Federation of Centers of Research and Information on Cults and Sects, is based in France (Marseille). It is funded handsomely by the French government, but operates throughout Europe and also in various non-European nations. But do not be fooled, the majority of non-French groups and associations that have joined FECRIS are very small groups, sometimes consisting of one or two individuals sometimes existing only on paper.

by Francesco Alicino — This article analyzes the role of religious freedom and the principle of state secular-ism in Italy under the Covid-19 pandemic. In particular, the author focuses on the Government’s anti-Covid-19 restrictive measures that have limited some fundamental rights, including the right to freely profess and celebrate religious rites in community; which has led to a lively debate.

by Steno Sari — In an address to an international conference, Pope Francis said, "Religious freedom is not just that of a private worship thought. It is freedom to live according to ethical principles consequent on the truth found, both privately and publicly."

France, even more than Germany, has always been the European country that has made intolerance toward religions almost a national sport. Article 2 of the French constitution consists of the famous motto liberté, egalité, fraternité. The current constitution dates back to 1958, and the above motto traces back to the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens.

Humanity is experiencing an "emergency" period. If on the one hand the WHO has declared the Covid-19 emergency over, on the other hand the emergency pitting Ukraine and NATO on one side and Russia on the other side with the bugbear of nuclear conflict as a backdrop continues.

by Francesco Alicino — In a constitutional democracy, the right to freedom of religion implies that everyone can freely profess, practise, and propagate their faith in various forms, alone or in community with others, in public or private, in worship, teaching, and observance.

by Steno Sari — “Amoktat”, that is, the act of a madman. With this simple label, Hamburg police shelved the March 9 killing of seven Jehovah's Witnesses inside a Kingdom Hall. A fact that is difficult to understand and of which many details and motive are not known.

Today 35-year-old Philipp F. shot to death seven people, all of them Jehovah's Witnesses. Police had visited him after receiving a tip that raised doubts about his mental health and warned them that the man "harbored a particular hatred of religions and in particular of Jehovah's Witnesses."

Once again, justice prevailed over the intolerant and uncivilized attitude of the Russian judicial bodies towards the Christian congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses.

This was reported by The European Times in an article that we reproduce below.

The second section of the Rome Court of Appeals has finally ended the long-running diatribe between the UAAR and the City of Verona by requiring the latter to respect the dictates of the Constitution. FOB congratulates the UAAR and those who have done their utmost to reaffirm and enforce the inalienable right to freedom of thought, conscience and belief.

The 2023 International Religious Freedom Summit organised by the Coalition for International Religious Freedom was held in Washington DC from January 31^st to February 1^st, 2023.

On the occasion of the Justice Day celebrated in Taiwan on 11 January 2023, CESNUR and Human Rights Without Frontiers co-organized a webinar entitled "True and independent justice for Tai Ji Men". Among the speakers was Alessandro Amicarelli, president of FOB, who gave the following closing speech.

Rosita Šorytė — In Central Asian countries, courts have penalized the Jehovah’s Witnesses for allegedly damaging the mental health of their victims and propagating “religious extremism.” These accusations did not originate in Central Asia but were imported there from Russia. After examining some specific court cases, the paper discusses three main Russian accusations against Jehovah’s Witnesses (...)