The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued two judgments on February 22, 2022, in favor of 15 of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The cases involved incidents in which law enforcement officials mistreated our brothers during home raids that occurred between 2010 and 2012. The judgments establish that Russia violated our brothers’ and sisters’ fundamental rights to freedom of religion and liberty. Russia has been ordered to pay a total of over 99,000 euros ($112,323 U.S.) in compensation. The judgments are final and cannot be appealed.

The Court’s two judgments addressed six cases against Russia. a The cases challenged the validity of search warrants that prompted Russian authorities to raid several private homes and a Kingdom Hall, strip search two of our sisters who were arrested for preaching, and confiscate personal items. In some cases, these raids were carried out by masked and heavily armed FSB officers who forcefully confronted our brothers and sisters.

Speaking of the significance of these judgments, international human rights attorney André Carbonneau, who was consulted by the legal team, explained that these rulings “set a critical precedent establishing that Russia has been unjustly and unlawfully raiding the homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses, including the 1,700 that have occurred since Jehovah’s Witnesses were banned in 2017. Now, any new home raids enacted solely because someone is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses are considered illegal and in violation of the European Convention.” He added: “Notably, the Court condemned Russian authorities for disrupting door-to-door preaching. This shows that the ECHR views the ministry as a religious activity that the authorities should not interfere with.”

While these two judgments do not address the repression of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, they do set the stage for future decisions that will address the ban on our organization. There are more than 60 other cases involving Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia that are pending with the ECHR. We hope that these two positive rulings are a preview of how the Court will rule in those cases.

We all rejoice to see human rights authorities recognizing the uncompromising integrity of our brothers and sisters in Russia. These decisions are evidence that Jehovah is blessing the efforts to loyally defend his name and uphold his sovereignty.—Psalm 26:11.