KYRGYZSTAN Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court Upholds Right to Conscientious Objection

November 19, 2013, was a significant day for conscientious objectors to military service. The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court handed down a ruling in the cases of 11 of Jehovah’s Witnesses and held that Kyrgyzstan’s program of alternative service was unconstitutional. The law required those performing alternative service to make monetary payments directly to the military for the support of military activity. The law also required conscientious objectors to enroll in the reserves of the armed forces upon completion of the term of their alternative service. The Constitutional Chamber determined that it was a violation of the right to freedom of religion to compel conscientious objectors to perform alternative service in such circumstances. Subsequently, in the first few months of 2014, the Supreme Court of Kyrgyzstan applied the decision of the Constitutional Chamber and acquitted 14 of Jehovah’s Witnesses who were criminally convicted under the former law. These favorable decisions now end a seven-year battle to gain the right to freedom of religion as conscientious objectors. The determination of these peaceful young men upholds Jehovah’s name and our freedom of worship in the Kyrgyz Republic.