On Thursday, August 30, 2018, South Korea’s Supreme Court held a full-bench public hearing on the cases of three Jehovah’s Witnesses who are conscientious objectors to military service. Reflecting the intense public debate over Korea’s long history of imprisoning objectors, all 13 justices spent four hours questioning the Witnesses’ attorneys and others about the issue. The justices discussed at length the landmark Constitutional Court ruling of June 28, 2018, which ordered the Korean legislature to implement alternative service for genuine conscientious objectors rather than imprisoning them as criminals. The attorneys asked the Court to declare our three brothers not guilty, setting a strong precedent that will clarify how lower courts should decide on over 900 similar pending cases. It is now up to the Supreme Court to decide when and how to rule in the three representative cases they considered during the hearing.

With full confidence, we along with more than 100 of our faithful brothers still in prison will continue to wait patiently for the God of our salvation.—Micah 7:7.