European Court Orders Armenia to Pay €242,000 in Jehovah's Witnesses Case

The European Court of Human Rights has published a ruling in the case of "Aghayan and Others v. Armenia," which obliges the Republic of Armenia to pay the plaintiffs a total of €242,000. This was reported by Tert.am.

It is noted that the case was initiated based on 22 applications (from Sergey Aghayan and 21 other plaintiffs) against the Republic of Armenia. The court examined the case under Article 34 of the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

The plaintiffs are Jehovah's Witnesses who were convicted in 2012 for refusing military and other civilian service on various dates. Their grievance is that their rights, guaranteed by Article 9 of the Convention, were violated during the criminal proceedings.

They demanded €10,000 each as compensation for moral damages, as well as €2,000 for the reimbursement of legal costs. The Armenian government responded by stating that the amount was exaggerated; however, the court deemed it reasonable and ordered the government to pay €10,000 each as compensation for moral damages, along with €1,000 to cover local legal expenses.