Court decision protects religious rights of Jehovah's Witnesses to alternative service

This is reported by Slovo pro Slovo with reference to sud.ua.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has previously noted that the state is obliged to provide the constitutional right to alternative service that would be completely separated from military duty.

The case arose after the plaintiff received a fine of UAH 17,000 for allegedly failing to update his data, although he provided evidence of the update through the Reserve+ system and personally applied to the territorial recruitment center (TRC) with a statement of his desire to undergo alternative service as a consecrated baptized minister of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Despite the existence of the law "On mobilization training and mobilization", which does not define the mechanism of alternative service under martial law, the court drew attention to the practice of the ECHR, in particular the case of Mushfig Mammadov and others v. Azerbaijan, which confirms the right to refuse military service for religious reasons.

In addition, the protection of religious rights during mobilization was the subject of the annual report of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets. The report emphasizes numerous appeals from leaders of religious organizations who point to violations of the rights of their believers by the TRC representatives and demand a clear mechanism for alternative service.

Upon Dmytro Lubinets' recommendation, the Ministry of Defense is to introduce a bill that clarifies the conditions of alternative service during martial law. This initiative is pending consideration by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

The case of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Odesa region thus emphasizes the need for legal changes to avoid interference with freedom of religion and to ensure the right to alternative service for all those who cannot participate in military actions because of their beliefs.