At the end of World War II, Greece was liberated. But the problem of conscientious objectors became more acute. This was due to the civil war that engulfed Greece between 1947 and 1950. Because of the prevailing atmosphere, a number of conscientious objectors who were Jehovah’s Witnesses were sentenced to death by military courts. Thus, in the area of Larissa, John Tsukaris was executed on February 10, 1948. In the area of Nauplia, George Orphanidis was executed on February 11, 1949.

These executions aroused much adverse public opinion in different parts of the world. As a result of this public outcry, other death sentences were commuted to imprisonment​—from 20 years to life.

Then, in 1966, during peacetime, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christus Kazanis, was sentenced to death by an Athens court-martial for refusal to bear arms. This unexpected decision raised a great outcry in Greece and in other countries. Greek embassies everywhere were flooded by storms of protest over this astonishing sentence. Multitudes of letters and cablegrams of appeal were sent to the Greek government. As a result, the Kazanis case was reviewed and the death sentence was commuted to four-and-a-half-years’ imprisonment.