10 Years revealing secrets because there is no excuse for secrecy in religion (w1997 June 1) – Dan 2:47; Matt 10:26; Mark 4:22; Luke 12:2; Acts 4:19. 20.
“What sort of persons ought Jehovah’s Witnesses to be in holy acts of conduct and deeds of godly devotion, awaiting and keeping close in mind the presence of the day of Jehovah!”—2 PETER 3:11, 12.
Written by Lester Somrah - December 24, 2023
The Hague, Netherlands – On December 13, 2023, the District Court of The Hague ruled that a 2019 investigative report by the Utrecht University (‘the UU Report’, ‘the Utrecht report’), regarding allegations of child sexual abuse in the Dutch community of Jehovah's Witnesses and their willingness to report such allegations, is not “unlawful”. The court also ruled that the subsequent statements of the Minister for Legal Protection (‘Minister Sander Dekker’, ‘Minister Dekker’) following the publication of the said report, was not illegal nor discriminatory. The lawsuit was brought by the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Netherlands against the State.
In 2017, the newspaper Trouw published a series of reports about child sexual abuse in the Jehovah's Witnesses faith. Survivors and victims of child sexual abuse describe Jehovah's Witnesses as a "paradise for pedophiles" because the abuse never reported to law enforcement.
As a result of these newspaper articles, the Minister for Legal Protection requested Jehovah's Witnesses to conduct an independent investigation into these allegations of criminal conduct. Jehovah's Witnesses responded stating that they will not have an independent investigation into allegations child sexual abuse.
The House of Representatives (the lower house of the Netherlands Parliament) subsequently adopted a motion on July 3, 2018 stating that they note that there are many reports of sexual abuse in the community of Jehovah's witnesses; and requested that the government conduct an independent investigation to access the “experiences gained by people who are (or have been) part of the community of Jehovah's Witnesses with the aim of gaining insight into the possible underlying cause pattern, the (church) rules used, customs and structures within the community and the influence this has on people's willingness to report” and also to ensure “that an analysis is made of the investigations already carried out in other countries in the area of sexual abuse within the community of Jehovah's Witnesses and, if possible, formulate recommendations for the Netherlands”. – para. 3.12, December 2023 District Court of The Hague Ruling.
Minister Dekker subsequently asked the WODC (the Dutch abbreviation for Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek- en Datacentrum, in English: Research and Data Centre) of the Ministry of Justice and Security, to ensure that the research is executed. WODC in turn outsourced the independent investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse within the religious community of Jehovah's Witnesses, to the Utrecht University.
On January 23, 2020, the University's research report entitled “Sexual abuse and willingness to report within the Jehovah's Witnesses community”, was scheduled to made public in the House of Representatives.
The Dutch leadership of Jehovah's Witnesses immediately used summary proceedings to prevent the Utrecht report from being made public. This was struck down in the Central Netherlands District Court which ordered that Utrecht report be made public. This decision was thereafter upheld in August 2020, by the Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal which ruled that the reputation of Jehovah's Witnesses as a result of the UU report, is not “sufficient evidence to assume that there is an urgent interest in an appeal.”
Following the August 2020 ruling by the Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal, the Dutch Branch Office of Jehovah's Witnesses continued to nitpick at the Utrecht report. They began to use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain sensitive data that can be used to identify individual Jehovah’s Witness who participated in the University’s investigation.
The pettiness of the Dutch Branch Office of Jehovah's Witnesses continued in 2022, when they filed a lawsuit against the Minister for Legal Protection accusing him of making discriminatory statements. This lawsuit ended with the recent ruling in favor of the Minister for Legal Protection. In summary the court found that Minister Dekker’s statements are protected both by “parliamentary privilege” and “freedom of expression” under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights ('ECHR')
MPs Van Nispen (SP) and Kuiken (PvdA) ask whether the minister would like to talk again with the board of the Jehovah's Witnesses to find out the exact motives behind the Wob [FOIA] requests and to make it clear that he stands firm for the protection of abuse victims. Minister Dekker has little interest in such a conversation. He says he has already discussed this in an earlier meeting. “Given these conversations, and the fact that this has not brought about any change in their attitude, I see no point in consulting with the board about the motivations behind the Wob request.” - Bold and Italics mines.
The 2019 Utrecht University report entitled “Sexual abuse and willingness to report within the Jehovah's Witnesses community” found the following:
The Dutch leadership of Jehovah's Witnesses have subsequently rejected the Utrecht report, resulting in Minister Sander Dekker making the following statements in a January 23, 2020 letter to the President of the House of Representatives:
"To my dismay, the board responded negatively to this. Instead of focusing on creating more openness and recognition for the position of victims within the community, it denied the need for this. In the meantime, the board has spared no time, resources or effort to prevent publication of the report."
This is not the first time that Jehovah's Witnesses have been brazenly opposed to external scrutiny, transparency and accountability, especially by governments and their agencies. Below are a three (3) examples.
AUSTRALIA
A very excellent example is the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. In a November 2018 Executive Summary report, the attorneys for Jehovah's witnesses made the following statements:
In our opinion, had a challenge been made to a Court, it is reasonable to conclude that an Australian Court, applying the plain and ordinary meaning of the words and defined terms used in the Terms of Reference and applying conventional rules of construction, would have found that an examination of child sexual abuse in families of people who also happened to be members of Jehovah’s Witnesses, was beyond the scope of the Commission’s mandate. (2.14)
As a consequence of its finding, the Commission considered that it had carte blanche to inquire into allegations of child sexual abuse regardless of whether or not the alleged perpetrator was an official of Jehovah's Witnesses or a parent or family member of the congregation and despite its acknowledgement Jehovah's Witnesses did not have the institutional settings typical of religious institutions where abuse commonly occurs (Review 5.31). (2.16)
If Jehovah's Witnesses had it their way from the onset of the Royal Commission, they would have fought all the way to the High Court of Australia justifying to be exempted from the scrutiny of the Royal Commission. However the Royal Commission made it clear that when “an allegation of familial sexual abuse becomes known to an elder and is subsequently Scripturally investigated by congregation elders, it ceases to be familial sexual abuse and becomes institutional sexual abuse.”
JAPAN
In response to allegations of forced recruitment of minors into the Jehovah’s Witness faith; allegations of extreme corporal punishment by Jehovah’s Witness parents; and allegations of child sexual abuse; and parental denial of medical treatment to their children,a representative of the Japanese branch of Jehovah’s Witness said:
"the complaints being voiced against it are false and misleading. There have been distorted reports and wrong conclusions based only on comments made by disgruntled people who used to be related to (Jehovah’s Witnesses), and such opinions are factually incorrect.” – Ex-Jehovah’s Witness opens up about trauma brought by faith, The Asahi Shimbun, February 27, 2023
SPAIN
On December 14, 2023 a Madrid court ruled that:
“the statements, experiences and comments [including the labels “destructive sect”, “victims”] of the Association of Victims of Jehovah's Witnesses are protected by the right to freedom of expression” as well as protected under Article 10 of the ECHR - A court in Torrejón de Ardoz dismisses the lawsuit from the religious organization Jehovah's Witnesses for violation of the right to honor
In essence, the court's judgement sends a clear message to the Spanish leadership of Jehovah's Witnesses that critisizing religious beliefs and practices is a protected freedom under Article 10 of the ECHR - a protected freedom that Jehovah's Witnesses themselves enjoy. The court's judgement also sends a clear message to the Spanish leadership of Jehovah's Witnesses that "the right to freedom of expression” is not a exclusive right that belongs solely to Jehovah's Witnesses or any other religious minorities, but rather to all Spanish citizens.
"Although it is annoying and deeply hurtful, the existence of the Association must be tolerated since, precisely this mechanism of disapproval or criticism, allows a certain control, almost like a "watchdog", so that the already mentioned limits of religious freedom are not exceeded. ; It prevents and helps to eradicate abuses of all kinds."
page 41, December 14, 2023 Judgement
Consejo General del Poder Judicial
There is no theological or religious dogma of Jehovah's Witnesses that supports their religious practice to be brazenly opposed to external scrutiny and accountability. In fact, there is no religious material in their books and magazines that supports this practice. Rather, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that they are a “theatrical spectacle” (1 Cor. 4:9) constantly being watched by non-Jehovah’s Witnesses. Jehovah’s Witnesses “must continue recommending themselves as God’s ministers “through bad report and good report.” (2 Cor. 6:4, 8) - You Are “a Theatrical Spectacle”!
There is nothing about being anti-theatrical spectacle!!
Furthermore, Jehovah’s Witnesses are told they must “be in holy acts of conduct and deeds of godly devotion awaiting and keeping close in mind the presence of the day of Jehovah!” (2 Pet. 3:11, 12). Their article, Rejoicing in Our Hope lists several “holy acts of conduct and deeds of godly devotion”. Being brazenly opposed to external criticisms, scrutiny and accountability is not listed as a “holy act of conduct and deed of godly devotion”. If Jehovah’s Witnesses are so occupied with “keeping close in mind the presence of the day of Jehovah”, then why do they bother about what other people say about them? Why are Jehovah’s Witnesses constantly and consistently offended by a “bad report”? I believe that there is more in the water than just sand and clean pebbles. (Hint: Read the November 2018 Executive Summary Report here.)
Jehovah’s Witnesses are free to interpret the Bible in whatever way they want – that’s freedom of religion. However freedom of religion and speech is not a hall pass for harmful, abusive, destructive religious beliefs and practices. It is not a hall pass for Jehovah's Witnesses to disseminate and promote such beliefs and practices. Nor does freedom of religion and speech mean that Jehovah’s Witnesses are somehow entitled to immunity from external scrutiny, transparency and accountability.
December 2023
District Court of The Hague rules against the Netherlands leadership of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The court found that Minister Dekker’s statements are protected both by “parliamentary privilege” and “freedom of expression” under Article 10 of the ECHR.
April 2021
Dutch branch office of the Jehovah’s Witnesses use the Freedom of Information Act to obtain sensitive data so that they can identify individual Jehovah’s Witnesses who participated in the Utrecht University investigation.
Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal rejects the appeal of Jehovah’s Witnesses regarding the January 2020 ruling of the lower court.
January 2020
Dutch branch office of the Jehovah’s Witnesses filed summary proceedings to prevent the publication of the Utrecht University report. A Utrecht court ordered that the Utrecht University report be made public.
December 2019
Utrecht University released its 145-page report and a 7-page Executive Summary on their investigation into sexual abuse within Jehovah’s Witnesses.
December 2018
Police raided seven buildings as part of the investigation into sexual abuse within Jehovah’s Witnesses.
August 2018
The Public Prosecution Service is investigating nine cases of sexual violence within the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
July 2018
The House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal) authorized the government to conduct an independent investigation into allegations of sexual child abuse in the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith.
May 2018
Jehovah’s Witnesses informed Minister Dekker that they will not conduct an independent investigation after allegations of child abuse.
February 2018
Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse to hand over internal investigation documents to the Public Prosecution Service.
February 2018
220 reports of abuse have now been received by Reclaimed Voices.
Victims’ attorney requested that Jehovah’s Witnesses hand over internal investigation documents to the Public Prosecution Service.
December 2017
Reclaimed Voices received 80 reports of child sexual abuse within the Jehovah’s Witnesses in its first month of operation.
November 2017
Reclaimed Voices received 46 reports of child sexual abuse within the Jehovah’s Witnesses after its first week of operation.
November 2017
Reclaimed Voices foundation was founded by several former Jehovah’s Witnesses to expose child sexual abuse in the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith.
Lester Somrah writes about the beliefs and practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses on his social media platforms and was baptized as a member in 1998.
The eyes of Jehovah are everywhere, watching both the bad and the good – Proverbs 15:3
