Country Advice Ukraine Ukraine – UKR36350 – Ternopil – Jehovah’s Witnesses – State protection – Police 22 March 2010

1. Are there reports of Jehovah’s Witnesses being mistreated in the Ukraine, in particular Ternopil in recent years? Yes, there are reports of Jehovah’s Witnesses being mistreated in the Ukraine in recent years (2005 – 2009), with one report noting a “violent attack” in Ternopil.1 Sources indicate that abuse of Jehovah’s Witnesses has usually occurred at the hands of individuals in apparently isolated, uncoordinated attacks.2 While some Jehovah’s Witnesses have been assaulted while proselytising, it is worth noting that Jehovah’s Witnesses have also held large public events without incident, including in Ternopil in 2007.3 Ukraine did not feature prominently on the major Jehovah’s Witnesses websites (www.jw.org, www.jw-media.org, www.thewatchtower.org), which tended to focus on countries where Jehovah’s Witnesses encounter strong opposition, such as Russia.4 No reports were found to suggest that Jehovah’s Witnesses have been abused by police or other government officials, and reliable sources state that the Ukrainian government generally respects religious freedom.5

1 Human Rights Without Frontiers 2009, Freedom of Religion and Belief – News Archives 2009 – Ukraine, December 2009, http://hrwf.net/uploads/2009 Ukraine.doc - Accessed 12 March 2010 – Attachment 1. 2 Human Rights Without Frontiers 2009, Freedom of Religion and Belief – News Archives 2009 – Ukraine, December 2009, http://hrwf.net/uploads/2009 Ukraine.doc - Accessed 12 March 2010 – Attachment 1; US State Department 2007, International Religious Freedom Report 2007 – Ukraine, 17 September, sec. 3 – Attachment 2; US State Department 2006, International Religious Freedom Report 2006 – Ukraine, 15 September, sec. 2– Attachment 3; US State Department 2007, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2006 – Ukraine, 6 March, sec. 2c – Attachment 4. 3 “Jehovah’s Witnesses Congress Opens in Ternopil” 2007, Religious Information Service of Ukraine, 13 July, http://old.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;16707/ - Accessed 12 March 2010 – Attachment 5; see also, “Jehovah’s Witnesses Hold Regional Congress in Chernivtsi” 2007, Research Information Service of Ukraine, 24 July, http://old.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;16893/ - Accessed 12 March 2010 – Attachment 6; “30,000 Ukrainian Jehovah’s Witnesses Gather in Lviv for Special Prayer Service” 2008, Religious Information Service of Ukraine, 5 June, http://old.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;22560/ - Accessed 12 March 2010 – Attachment 7; “25,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses Defend Right to Convene in Lviv” 2007, Research Information Service of Ukraine, 15 May, http://old.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;15694/ - Accessed 12 March 2010 – Attachment 8. 4 For a sampling of Jehovah’s Witnesses reports on the situation of followers in Russia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and other countries where Jehovah’s Witnesses are treated harshly, see “Confiscation of religious property in Russia begins” 2010, Jehovah’s Witness Official Media Site, 9 March, http://www.jw- media.org/rus/20100309.htm - Accessed 19 March 2010 – Attachment 9; “Azerbaijan treats distribution of religious literature as a crime” 2010, Jehovah’s Witness Official Media Site, 10 March, http://www.jw- media.org/aze/20100310.htm - Accessed 19 March 2010 – Attachment 10; “Four years in a labor colony for being a Christian” 2008, Jehovah’s Witness Official Media Site, 29 April, http://www.jw- media.org/uzb/20080429.htm - Accessed 19 March 2010 – Attachment 11; and “Jehovah’s Witnesses banned in Tajikistan” 2007, Jehovah’s Witness Official Media Site, 24 October, http://www.jw- media.org/tjk/20071024.htm - Accessed 19 March 2010 – Attachment 12. 5 US State Department 2009, International Religious Freedom Report 2009 – Ukraine, 26 October – Attachment 13; US State Department 2010, 2009 Human Rights Reports: Ukraine, 11 March, 2.c – Attachment 14.

Page 1 of 6 Reports of violence The US State Department and several human rights groups have reported violence against Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Ukraine in recent years. In 2005 the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHRPG), a Ukrainian NGO, made the general comment that “[i]n some cases, individual Jehovah’s Witnesses have, while carrying out their religious duties, been subjected to brutal treatment”.6 Four years later, the Brussels-based NGO Human Rights without Frontiers (HRWF) said that Jehovah’s Witnesses were “experiencing growing problems” in Ukraine and noted that “violent attacks” had happened in: the city of Voznesensk, Mykolayiv District, the village of Mykulyntsi in the Ternopil Region, the village of Berezivka in the Kharkiv Region, the village of Shchelkino in the republic of Crimea, the cities of Myrgorod and Kremenchuk in the Poltava Region, Odessa, the city of Stryy in the Lviv Region, Lugansk, Sevastopol and other cities of Ukraine.7 (emphasis added)

No further information was provided on these attacks, but HRWF and the US State Department have provided more detailed accounts of other incidents of violence against Jehovah’s Witnesses during the period 2005 – 2009. (HRWF reports drew on information provided by the European Association of Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses.8) These included:  In April 2009, an Orthodox priest reportedly beat two Jehovah’s Witnesses in Chernigiv Region after seeing them walking in the street.9  In November 2009, a man in Kharkiv Region allegedly shot at (and missed) two Jehovah’s Witnesses who were “engaged in religious activity”.10  In June 2008, a Russian Orthodox priest in Odessa Region “punched” two Jehovah’s Witnesses, breaking the jaw of one.11  In March 2008, two Jehovah’s Witnesses in Poltava Region were “having Bible based conversations” with others when a man shouted at and punched them.12  In December 2006, a Jehovah’s Witness missionary from overseas was badly beaten in Kremenchuk, Poltavska Oblast; the US State Department noted that similar incidents had occurred in the past.13  In 2005 a priest from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church allegedly beat six Jehovah’s Witnesses in Cherkassy Oblast after they came onto his property.14

6 Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group 2005, Human Rights in Ukraine - 2005: V. Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion, http://www.khpg.org.ua/en/index.php?id=1151768398 - Accessed 12 March 2010 – Attachment 15. See p 25. 7 Human Rights Without Frontiers 2009, Freedom of Religion and Belief – News Archives 2009 – Ukraine, December 2009, http://hrwf.net/uploads/2009 Ukraine.doc - Accessed 12 March 2010 – Attachment 1. 8 Human Rights Without Frontiers 2009, Freedom of Religion and Belief – News Archives 2009 – Ukraine, December 2009, http://hrwf.net/uploads/2009 Ukraine.doc - Accessed 12 March 2010 – Attachment 1. 9 Human Rights Without Frontiers 2009, Freedom of Religion and Belief – News Archives 2009 – Ukraine, December 2009, http://hrwf.net/uploads/2009 Ukraine.doc - Accessed 12 March 2010 – Attachment 1. 10 Human Rights Without Frontiers 2009, Freedom of Religion and Belief – News Archives 2009 – Ukraine, December 2009, http://hrwf.net/uploads/2009 Ukraine.doc - Accessed 12 March 2010 – Attachment 1. 11 Human Rights Without Frontiers 2009, Freedom of Religion and Belief – News Archives 2009 – Ukraine, December 2009, http://hrwf.net/uploads/2009 Ukraine.doc - Accessed 12 March 2010 – Attachment 1. 12 Human Rights Without Frontiers 2009, Freedom of Religion and Belief – News Archives 2009 – Ukraine, December 2009, http://hrwf.net/uploads/2009 Ukraine.doc - Accessed 12 March 2010 – Attachment 1. 13 US State Department 2007, International Religious Freedom Report 2007 – Ukraine, 17 September, sec. 3 – Attachment 2; US State Department 2007, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2006 – Ukraine, 6 March, sec. 2c – Attachment 4.

Page 2 of 6  Also in 2005, a man attacked two Jehovah’s Witnesses in Donetsk Region.15 These incidents indicate that violence against Jehovah’s Witnesses has often been instigated by one individual against two or more others in moments of opportunity – usually, while Jehovah’s Witnesses were engaged in missionary activity. That Orthodox priests were involved in at least three cases likely reflects the tensions between “well- established Orthodox communities” in the Ukraine and more recently introduced, “Western forms” of Christianity such as Jehovah’s Witnesses.16 (Please note: a map marking the areas where the attacks occurred is attached.17) No reports were found to suggest that Jehovah’s Witnesses were abused by government officials or police, though sources noted that Jehovah’s Witnesses were dissatisfied with authorities’ responsiveness to acts of violence committed against their members. (Please see Question Two.)

Other difficulties faced by Jehovah’s Witnesses in Ukraine Sources reported that Jehovah’s Witnesses encountered other difficulties in Ukraine, such as vandalism of places of worship and difficulty gaining access to land to build churches. Human Rights without Frontiers (HRWF) said vandalism of Jehovah’s Witnesses’ buildings occurred “all over Ukraine” but particularly in certain cities, one of which was “Zharazh, Ternopil Region”.18 In 2005, the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHRPG) said there had been more than 34 cases of vandalism against the main office of Jehovah’s Witnesses.19 According to the US State Department, vandalism of religious sites and monuments is a widespread problem in the Ukraine.20 In 2008 the US State Department reported that Jehovah’s Witnesses had complained about not being able to build a religious centre in Zaporizhia – the city council had reportedly refused to issue a building permit and the site went to a private business.21 The KHRPG also reported that Jehovah’s Witnesses faced difficulties in receiving land to build places of worship.22 Other religious and community groups have experienced the same problem, and the US State Department has said that “in many cases” trouble obtaining land and

14 US State Department 2007, International Religious Freedom Report 2007, 17 September, sec. 3 – Attachment 2; US State Department 2006, International Religious Freedom Report 2006, 15 September, sec. 2 – Attachment 3. 15 US State Department 2006, International Religious Freedom Report 2006, 15 September, sec. 2 – Attachment 3. 16 Human Rights First 2008, 2008 Hate Crime Survey: Ukraine, http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/discrimination/reports.aspx?s=ukraine&p=violentatt - Accessed 12 March 2010 – Attachment 16. 17 Research & Information 2010, “Map 1: Map of Ukraine marking attacks against Jehovah’s Witnesses”, Research Response UKR36350, 22 March, original map sourced from http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/europe/ukraine/ - Accessed 17 March 2010 – Attachment 17. 18 Human Rights Without Frontiers 2009, Freedom of Religion and Belief – News Archives 2009 – Ukraine, December 2009, http://hrwf.net/uploads/2009 Ukraine.doc - Accessed 12 March 2010 – Attachment 1. 19 Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group 2005, Human Rights in Ukraine - 2005: V. Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion, http://www.khpg.org.ua/en/index.php?id=1151768398 - Accessed 12 March 2010 – Attachment 15. See p 28. 20 US State Department 2010, 2009 Human Rights Reports: Ukraine, 11 March, sec. 2.c – Attachment 14. 21 US State Department 2008, International Religious Freedom Report 2008, 17 September, sec. 2 – Attachment 18. 22 Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group 2005, Human Rights in Ukraine - 2005: V. Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion, http://www.khpg.org.ua/en/index.php?id=1151768398 - Accessed 12 March 2010 – Attachment 15. See p 18.

Page 3 of 6 building permits “could be attributed to financial reasons rather than bias against a particular religious community”.23

2. Is there evidence that the authorities fail to protect the rights of Jehovah’s Witnesses? The limited available sources indicate that police and the courts in Ukraine have sometimes failed to respond adequately to acts of violence against Jehovah’s Witnesses. This evidence is found primarily in accounts of the attacks listed in the answer to Question One. It is important to note that these reports are partial and in some cases, uncorroborated. In all cases, however, reports of specific incidents relate similar outcomes for those who commit crimes against Jehovah’s Witnesses: most perpetrators were not prosecuted, and those who were received mild sentences or were exonerated. According to Human Rights without Frontiers (HRWF), authorities demonstrated “lack of action” in responding to the 2008 and 2009 assaults detailed in its religious freedom in Ukraine report. In three instances, criminal cases were never opened; in another, a “pre- court investigation” was permitted – but after ten months, the instigator of the attack had not yet been considered as a suspect. The one case that did go to court resulted in a punishment of one year’s probation on “hooliganism” charges.24 The US State Department reported similar outcomes for incidents occurring in 2005 and 2006. In the case of the Jehovah’s Witness missionary from overseas who was beaten in 2006, police took months to open an investigation; two years later they had still “made no progress” and the 2008 Country Report on Human Rights commented that “none was expected”.25 The perpetrators in the 2005 incidents were taken to court, but the priest who had admitted to beating six Jehovah’s Witnesses was exonerated of assault and hate crime charges.26 The man who attacked two female Jehovah’s Witnesses in Donetsk Region was sentenced to 12 months in prison on “hooliganism” charges, rather than for the more serious crime of inciting religious hatred.27

3. Deleted.

Attachments

1. Human Rights Without Frontiers 2009, Freedom of Religion and Belief – News Archives 2009 – Ukraine, December 2009, http://hrwf.net/uploads/2009 Ukraine.doc - Accessed 12 March 2010.

23 Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group 2005, Human Rights in Ukraine - 2005: V. Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion, http://www.khpg.org.ua/en/index.php?id=1151768398 - Accessed 12 March 2010 – Attachment 15. See p 18; US State Department 2009, International Religious Freedom Report 2009 – Ukraine, 11 March, sec. 2 – Attachment 13. 24 Human Rights Without Frontiers 2009, Freedom of Religion and Belief – News Archives 2009 – Ukraine, December 2009, http://hrwf.net/uploads/2009 Ukraine.doc - Accessed 12 March 2010 – Attachment 1. 25 US State Department 2009, 2008 Human Rights Reports: Ukraine, 25 February, sec. 2.c – Attachment 19; US State Department 2007, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2006 – Ukraine, 6 March, sec. 2c – Attachment 4. 26 US State Department 2006, International Religious Freedom Report 2006, 15 September, sec. 2 – Attachment 3; US State Department 2007, International Religious Freedom Report 2007, 17 September, sec. 3 – Attachment 2. 27 US State Department 2007, International Religious Freedom Report 2007, 17 September, sec. 3 – Attachment 2.

Page 4 of 6 2. US State Department 2007, International Religious Freedom Report 2007 – Ukraine, 17 September.

3. US State Department 2006, International Religious Freedom Report 2006 – Ukraine, 15 September.

4. US State Department 2007, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2006 – Ukraine, 6 March.

5. “Jehovah’s Witnesses Congress Opens in Ternopil” 2007, Research Information Service of Ukraine, 13 July, http://old.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;16707/ - Accessed 12 March 2010.

6. “Jehovah’s Witnesses Hold Regional Congress in Chernivtsi” 2007, Research Information Service of Ukraine, 24 July, http://old.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;16893/ - Accessed 12 March 2010.

7. “30,000 Ukrainian Jehovah’s Witnesses Gather in Lviv for Special Prayer Service” 2008, Research Information Service of Ukraine, 5 June, http://old.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;22560/ - Accessed 12 March 2010.

8. “25,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses Defend Right to Convene in Lviv” 2007, Research Information Service of Ukraine, 15 May, http://old.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;15694/ - Accessed 12 March 2010.

9. “Confiscation of religious property in Russia begins” 2010, Jehovah’s Witness Official Media Site, 9 March, http://www.jw-media.org/rus/20100309.htm - Accessed 19 March 2010.

10. “Azerbaijan treats distribution of religious literature as a crime” 2010, Jehovah’s Witness Official Media Site, 10 March, http://www.jw-media.org/aze/20100310.htm - Accessed 19 March 2010.

11. “Four years in a labor colony for being a Christian” 2008, Jehovah’s Witness Official Media Site, 29 April, http://www.jw-media.org/uzb/20080429.htm - Accessed 19 March 2010.

12. “Jehovah’s Witnesses banned in Tajikistan” 2007, Jehovah’s Witness Official Media Site, 24 October, http://www.jw-media.org/tjk/20071024.htm - Accessed 19 March 2010.

13. US State Department 2009, International Religious Freedom Report 2009 – Ukraine, 26 October.

14. US State Department 2010, 2009 Human Rights Reports: Ukraine, 11 March.

15. Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group 2005, Human Rights in Ukraine - 2005: V. Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion, http://www.khpg.org.ua/en/index.php?id=1151768398 - Accessed 12 March 2010.

16. Human Rights First 2008, 2008 Hate Crime Survey: Ukraine, http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/discrimination/reports.aspx?s=ukraine&p=violentatt - Accessed 12 March 2010.

Page 5 of 6 17. Research & Information 2010, “Map 1: Map of Ukraine marking attacks against Jehovah’s Witnesses”, Research Response UKR36350, 22 March, original map sourced from http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/europe/ukraine/ - Accessed 17 March 2010.

18. US State Department 2008, International Religious Freedom Report 2008, 17 September.

19. US State Department 2009, 2008 Human Rights Reports: Ukraine, 25 February.

20. Deleted.

21. Deleted.

22. Deleted.

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