In the previous few months, the variety of felony proceedings in opposition to non secular conscientious objectors has all of the sudden dramatically elevated in Ukraine, primarily affecting the members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ group and even their non secular ministers. The convictions are extreme: imprisonment for a time period of three years.
As of late October, police and prosecutors have been investigating about 300 felony circumstances in opposition to conscientious objectors (over 280 have been Jehovah’s Witnesses), in keeping with Forum18. Some others have been Adventists, Baptists, Pentecostals and non-believers.
This example is the consequence of a choice of the Supreme Court docket which clearly confirmed on 13 June 2024 the suspension of the proper to conscientious objection and to another civilian service throughout the battle with Russia, in a case opposing the Adventist Dmytro Zelinsky to the Ukrainian state.
Quote from the choice of the Supreme Court docket:
“In line with Artwork. 17 of the Regulation of Ukraine of 06.12.1991 № 1932-XII ‘On Protection of Ukraine’ safety of the Fatherland, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine is a constitutional obligation of the residents of Ukraine. Male residents of Ukraine, eligible for navy service for well being and age, and feminine residents, additionally with applicable skilled coaching, should carry out navy service in accordance with the regulation.
Thus, no non secular beliefs will be the premise for evading a citizen of Ukraine, acknowledged as match for navy service, from mobilization with a view to fulfill his constitutional obligation to guard the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state from navy aggression by a overseas nation.”
Dmytro Zelinsky appealed to the Constitutional Court docket and on 24 September 2024, proceedings have been opened about his grievance. A solution shouldn’t be anticipated till a number of months.
Constitutional and authorized framework
The Structure of Ukraine (Article 35) enshrines the proper to freedom of faith and worldview. Whereas granting freedom to profess any faith or to not profess any, to freely carry out non secular and ritual rites individually or collectively, to conduct non secular actions, the Structure states that nobody will be relieved of his duties to the state or refuse to adjust to the legal guidelines on the grounds of non secular beliefs. Whether it is opposite to the non secular beliefs of the citizen, the success of this obligation should be changed by another (non-military) service.
The laws of Ukraine protects the proper of its residents to conscientious objection to navy service, however solely for ten classes of non secular associations:
Reformed Adventists
Seventh-day Adventists
Evangelical Christians
Evangelical Christian Baptists
Pokutniki (stemming from the Uniate Church within the mid-Nineteen Nineties)
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Charismatic Christian Church buildings (and related Church buildings in keeping with the registered statutes)
Christians of the Evangelical Religion (and related Church buildings in keeping with the registered statutes)
Christians of the Evangelical Religion
Society for Kṛiṣhṇa Consciousness.
Believers of different religions and followers of non-religious worldviews (atheists, agnostics…) should not eligible for the standing of conscientious objection.
Noteworthy can also be that whereas Adventists can settle for another civilian service beneath navy supervision, Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse any type of different service beneath the authority of the military.
The precise regulation of Ukraine “On Various (Non-Army) Service” gives for the potential for changing solely fixed-term navy service with different (non-military) service, i.e. solely navy service that’s legitimate in peacetime.
Mounted-term navy service was abolished with Russia’s invasion of the territory of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Ukraine declared a state of martial regulation and normal mobilization was rapidly launched by presidential decree. All males between the ages of 18 and 60 have been deemed eligible for call-up in a normal mobilisation and have been banned from leaving the nation.
The regulation doesn’t present for the likelihood and a process for changing navy service with different (non-military) service throughout navy conscription (mobilization). The choices of the courts coping with conscientious objectors on this context have been first unsure.
Variety of arrests on the rise
From February 2022 to July 2024 (28 months), the variety of sentences in felony circumstances issued in opposition to Jehovah’s Witnesses who refused to be mobilized as a consequence of their non secular beliefs was solely 4 circumstances. Within the interval from July to November 2024 (5 months), their quantity escalated to 14 circumstances.
It should be harassed that there are about 100,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses in Ukraine and hundreds of them have the age to be mobilized. It implies that the issue may rapidly grow to be daunting with a large variety of convictions to jail phrases. Within the meantime, their solely possibility will probably be to enter hiding, to stay at a spot totally different from their official handle, to decide on self-confinement, to cease working exterior or to watch out on their option to their office, to keep away from public transport, practice and bus stations, public occasions…
See latest documented circumstances on the web site of Human Rights With out Frontiers