JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES
OFFICE OF PUBLIC INFORMATION
For Immediate Release October 12, 2004
Armenia registers Jehovah’s Witnesses
YEREVAN, Armenia – On October 11, 2004, at 5.30 p.m. the Central
Agency of the State Registry of the Ministry of Justice handed the
representatives of Jehovah’s Witnesses the official certificate of
registration of their religious organization in Armenia.
“This is a great day for us,” said Hrach Keshishyan, spokesman for
Jehovah’s Witnesses in Armenia. “We may now be able to enjoy the same
civil rights and freedom of worship as our fellow believers in the
rest of the world. We are truly grateful to the Armenian authorities
for taking this courageous step in favor of religious freedom.”
The registration granted by the Ministry of Justice ends a nine-year
history of registration applications-14 in all-the first one being
filed on October 15, 1995. The decision to grant Jehovah’s Witnesses
legal status is an indication of Armenia’s compliance with its
commitments to the Council of Europe.
Keshishyan also stated: “We eagerly anticipate the immediate release of
15 young men, Jehovah’s Witnesses, currently in prison or in pretrial
detention for their conscientious objection to military service.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world rejoice over the legal recognition
in Armenia and hope that this recognition will pave the way for Armenia
to resolve the long-standing issue of the young men who are Witnesses
and whose Bible-trained conscience does not allow them to serve in the
military. In its Resolution 1361 (2004), the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe had ruled that those men “be released immediately
by presidential pardon.”
There are approximately 8,000 of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Armenia.
Armenian/Russian speaking contacts
Armenia: Hrach Keshishyan
phone + 374 9 46-39-50
Russia: Jaroslav Sivulskii
Phone +7 812 434-38-50
English speaking contacts
Europe: Paul Gillies
phone +44 20 8906 2211
United States: David Semonian
Phone +718 560 5600
David A. Semonian
Assistant Director
Office of Public Information
World Headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses
25 Columbia Heights
Brooklyn, New York 11201
718-560-5600
[email protected]