• Defending Religious Freedom in Indigenous Communities
    How Your Donations Are Used

    • Helped to Return Home

      In Mexico, our brothers and sisters in a Huichol community in the mountains of Jalisco State respectfully refused to participate in religious practices that violated their conscience.b But this angered some in the community. On December 4, 2017, a violent mob attacked a group of Witnesses and several others who were with them. The mob forcibly expelled them from the community, destroyed their property, and threatened to kill any who tried to return.

      Witnesses in nearby towns cared for the immediate needs of our brothers and sisters. But what could be done so that they could return home? “We did not have enough money to hire a lawyer,” explains a brother named Agustín, “and we did not know where to go for legal advice.”

      Since our brothers’ freedom of worship was under attack, the Central America branch took immediate action. First, they asked local officials to investigate these crimes. Next, they received approval from the Coordinators’ Committee of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses to work with the Legal Department at world headquarters and to file a lawsuit on behalf of our Huichol brothers and sisters. The case eventually reached the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation—Mexico’s highest court.

      An international team of lawyers prepared a clear argument in which they explained that just as others must respect the culture of indigenous communities, the communities themselves must respect and protect the freedoms of all of their members. Human rights have no borders.

      On July 8, 2020, the Supreme Court of Justice ruled unanimously in favor of Jehovah’s Witnesses. They ordered that all those who had been expelled should be allowed to return to their community. Agustín, quoted earlier, expresses the appreciation that he and others feel: “We are so grateful and happy for what the brothers have done for us. If they had not helped us, we could not have done anything.”