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Jehovah's Witnesses faced discrimination in Armenia, says US Dep. of
State report
11:44 - 21.05.13
The US Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and
Labor has criticized the Armenian authorities of placing restrictions
upon religious minorities in its 2012 annual country report on
International Religious Freedom.
`The constitution protects religious freedom; however, some laws and
policies restrict religious freedom. There were reports of abuses of
religious freedom. The law grants privileges to the Armenian Apostolic
Church not available to other religious groups. Most registered
religious groups reported no significant legal impedimentsto their
activities. However, according to the Jehovah's Witnesses, 31 members
remained in prison for refusing on religious grounds to perform
mandatory military or alternative labor service. The trend in the
government's respect for religious freedom did not change
significantly during the year,' reads the executive summary of the
report.
The document highlights the reports on societal discrimination based
on religious affiliation, belief, or practice. It says further that
many media outlets in the country demonstrated biased against
religious minorities.
It refers to the US embassy efforts to urge the government to adopt a
law on alternative military service for conscientious objectors.
The document describes the situation with religious freedoms in four
different sections: Religious demogpraphy, Status of Government
Respect for Religious Freedom, Status of Societal Respect for
Religious Freedom and U.S. Government Policy.
The full report can be accessed here.
Armenian News - Tert.am
State report
11:44 - 21.05.13
The US Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and
Labor has criticized the Armenian authorities of placing restrictions
upon religious minorities in its 2012 annual country report on
International Religious Freedom.
`The constitution protects religious freedom; however, some laws and
policies restrict religious freedom. There were reports of abuses of
religious freedom. The law grants privileges to the Armenian Apostolic
Church not available to other religious groups. Most registered
religious groups reported no significant legal impedimentsto their
activities. However, according to the Jehovah's Witnesses, 31 members
remained in prison for refusing on religious grounds to perform
mandatory military or alternative labor service. The trend in the
government's respect for religious freedom did not change
significantly during the year,' reads the executive summary of the
report.
The document highlights the reports on societal discrimination based
on religious affiliation, belief, or practice. It says further that
many media outlets in the country demonstrated biased against
religious minorities.
It refers to the US embassy efforts to urge the government to adopt a
law on alternative military service for conscientious objectors.
The document describes the situation with religious freedoms in four
different sections: Religious demogpraphy, Status of Government
Respect for Religious Freedom, Status of Societal Respect for
Religious Freedom and U.S. Government Policy.
The full report can be accessed here.
Armenian News - Tert.am