Case Against Jehovah’s Witnesses Decided

AFTER repeated postponements, the Court of Appeals in Thessalonica, Greece, finally met on June 8, 1995, to hear the case against four female Jehovah’s Witnesses. The charge brought against them? Proselytism, which Greek law has prohibited for more than five decades.

However, by the time the court convened, the prime witness for the prosecution​—the priest who instigated the case against the four women—​was no longer living. Another priest tried to testify in his place, but the court did not accept his plea. Thus, it is not surprising that the hearing lasted only 15 minutes! The judge examined the other prosecution witnesses and found the defendants not guilty of practicing unlawful proselytism. This decision indicates that the Greek courts are willing to respect and abide by the decision reached in 1993 by the European Court of Human Rights.

It was especially surprising to see the three women who testified for the prosecution approach the Witness defendants, wholeheartedly congratulating them. “We apologize for all these things that happened,” said one of them. She added: “It wasn’t our fault. The priest forced us to prosecute you. Now that he is no longer living, we want you to come to our village and to our homes.”

Thus, Jehovah has once again granted a wonderful victory to his people in Greece. Proselytism laws were passed in Greece in 1938 and 1939. In 1993 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that using this law to persecute Jehovah’s Witnesses is wrong.​—See The Watchtower, September 1, 1993, pages 27-31.