On October 7, 2014, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued a judgment in favor of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Republic of Georgia. The case, Begheluri and Others v. Georgia, was submitted to the Court over 12 years ago and involves 99 victims in 30 instances of physical violence and verbal abuse. All but one victim were Jehovah’s Witnesses. The incidents began with the violent dispersal by the police of several large religious gatherings and extended to widespread religiously motivated violence in the Witnesses’ homes, in courtrooms, and on the streets.
The ECHR’s judgment noted that the applicants had lodged approximately 160 complaints with the investigation authorities, and that these alleged that some of the attacks were carried out with the direct participation of the police and other authorities. However, those complaints failed to bring about any concrete results. Because the perpetrators were not punished, they were emboldened to carry out further attacks.
The full article is published here – http://www.jw.org/en/news/legal/by-region/georgia/echr-judgment-freedom-religious-violence/