We have some breaking news for you! Some very big news as it turns out.
The Organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses, through its branch office in Spain, has just lost a major court case with far-reaching implications to its worldwide operations.
If you watched our March 20, 2023 video interview with Spanish Lawyer Carlos Bardavío, you’ll recall that the Spain branch of Jehovah’s Witnesses under the legal name Testigos Cristianos de Jehová (Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses) launched a defamation lawsuit against the Asociación Española de Victimas de los Testigos de Jehová (The Spanish Association of Victims of Jehovah’s Witnesses).
The plaintiff, being the Spain branch of Jehovah’s Witnesses, wanted the defendant’s web site, https://victimasdetestigosdejehova.org, to be taken down. They also wanted that the legal registration of the Spanish Association of Victims of Jehovah’s Witnesses be eliminated with all its “injurious content” removed. The JW Spain Branch demanded that the dissemination of comments and similar information that attacked the Derecho al Honor, or “Right of Honor” of the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses cease. In compensation, they demanded that the Association of Victims pay damages amounting to $25,000 Euros.
The JW branch also petitioned the court to require the defendant to publish the headline and ruling of the judgment on every platform it had and was using to disseminate its “unlawful interference” with the Organization’s “right of honor”. Oh, and finally, the Organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses wanted the defendant Association of JW Victims to pay all of the legal court costs.
That’s what the JW plaintiff wanted. Here’s what they got! Nada, zilch, and less than nada! Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses have to pay all of the court costs. But I said they got less than nada and here’s why.
I remember remarking in that March video interview with Carlos Bardavío that I felt the Organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses was making a huge mistake in launching this lawsuit. They were effectively shooting themselves in the foot.
By doing so, they were assuming the role of Goliath by attacking the David-like Spanish Association of JW Victims comprised of a mere 70 members give or take. Even if they won, they’d just come off as big bullies. And if they lost, it would be even worse for them, but I didn’t realize how much worse it would be. I don’t think they even realize it yet. This case has become much more than a simple failed defamation lawsuit. It has sweeping ramifications for the worldwide work of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Perhaps that is why it took so long for the Spanish court to come out with its ruling.
Back when we did that interview, we expected the court to rule on the case by May or June of this year. We didn’t expect to have to wait nine long months. The fact that it took so long to deliver this legislative baby is testament to the enormous international implications of the court’s ruling against Jehovah’s Witnesses.
I’ll give you some of the highlights now, though I hope to follow up with more details in the days to come. The information that follows is from a press release published in Spanish announcing a December 18 Press Conference in Madrid, Spain. (I’ll put a link to the announcement in the description field of this video.)
I’m paraphrasing to simplify some key excerpts from the court’s final judgement in ruling against Jehovah’s Witnesses and in favor of the defendant.
In arguing that the religious denomination of Jehovah’s Witnesses constitutes a “cult”, the court explained that the publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses gave evidence of excessive control exercised over the lives of its members concerning matters that modern Spanish society would consider to be positive, such as university studies, relationships with people of different faiths or lack thereof, marriages of people with different religious sensitivities as a sign of pluralism and healthy coexistence.
While acknowledging the right of a religion to hold its own particular beliefs concerning such matters, the court saw that JW leadership was utilizing its religious power to greatly control the attitudes of its members through coercive indoctrination.
The Organization’s insistence on knowing the details of certain relationships, whether amorous or not, its distrust of some eye-witness testimony, and its requirement to consult first with the elders, all point to a strict hierarchical system and exposes an atmosphere of insistent supervision. Furthermore, the absence of a fluid relationship with people who do not share their faith is intended to create an environment of isolation and social segregation.
The Spanish dictionary defines “cult” (in Spanish, “secta”) as "a closed community of a spiritual nature, guided by a leader who exercises a charismatic power over his followers", charismatic power being also understood as "a compelling or indoctrinating power". The key element of this definition is that the religious community is cut off from society with its members being compelled by its leaders to be very obedient to their rules, to their warnings, and to their counsel.
The court acknowledged the Organization’s argument that it is a well known and officially recognized religion. However, that status does not put them above reproach. There is nothing in the legal system of Spain to shield a religion from truthful criticism based on its own behaviour toward its current and former members.
The 74-page ruling will soon be available. Perhaps the Organization will decide to shoot itself in its other foot and appeal this decision to the European Supreme Court. I wouldn’t put it past them because of what Proverbs 4:19 says.
If you’re one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, you might jump in now and say, “Eric, don’t you mean Proverbs 4:18 about the path of the righteous getting brighter and brighter?” No, because we are not talking about the righteous here. The evidence points to the next verse:
“The way of the wicked is like the darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble.” (Proverbs 4:19)
This lawsuit was an expensive, time-consuming waste of resources for the Organization, and worse than that, a sure way for them to trip up, to stumble in the dark. I can only imagine that they looked at the glorious history of winning civil and human rights court cases going back to the days of Rutherford and Nathan Knorr and thought that “God is on our side, so we will come off victorious.” They simply cannot understand that they are not the ones suffering human rights abuses and violations anymore. They are the ones causing them and inflicting them on others.
They are walking around in the dark and don’t even know it, so they stumble.
If the Spain branch of Jehovah’s Witnesses does appeal this to the European Supreme Court, it could very well end up having that court support the decision of the Spanish court. That would mean that the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses would be legally considered a cult throughout all the European Union countries.
How could this situation ever have come to pass to the religion that once was a stellar champion for human rights? Decades back, I was told by a friend working for famous Canadian lawyer and Jehovah’s Witness, Frank Mott-Trille, that to a large degree, the Canadian Bill of Rights came about because of the civil rights cases fought by Glen How and Frank Mott-Trille to enshrine freedom of religious rights into the law code of the country of Canada. So how could the Organization I once loved and served have fallen so far?
And what does this say about the God they worship, indeed, the God that all Christian religions claim to worship? Well, the nation of Israel worshipped Yahweh or YHWH, yet they also killed the Son of God. How could they fall that far? And why did God allow it?
He allowed it because He wants His people to learn the path to truth, repent of their sins, and gain a right standing with Him. He puts up with a lot. But He has His limits. We have the historical account of what happened with His errant nation of Israel, don’t we? As Jesus said at Matthew 23:29-39, God sent them prophets time and again, all of whom they killed. In the end, God sent them his only begotten Son, but they killed him too. At that point, God’s patience ran out, and this resulted in the annihilation of the Jewish nation, destroying its capital, Jerusalem, and its holy temple.
This is the same for Christian religions, of which Jehovah’s Witnesses are one. As the Apostle Peter wrote:
“The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 BSB)
Our Father puts up with the abuses of Christian religions seeking the salvation of many, but there is always a limit, and when it’s reached, look out, or as John says, “Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues.” (Revelation 18:4)
Thank you to all who are praying for the safety and recovery of the many who have been abused and misused by the Organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I would also like to personally thank all of you who have helped us by supporting our work.
Archived Comments
We have moved to the Disqus commenting system. To post a new comment, go to the bottom of this page.
Comment by marytanton19@gmail.com on 2023-12-24 03:39:55
I asked a JW at their cart if they'd heard of this case and they hadn't. When I next saw them, they'd researched and come up with the Bitter Winter info mentioned by Leonardo here. Is there any written info in English (court case number or suchlike)?
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2023-12-25 19:05:48
Bitter Winter is referring to a different case from last year. In this instance, they lost, big time. I'll be releasing an English translation of the press conference that was held in Spain on the 18th. I hope to have it out by the end of this week.
Reply by Leonardo Josephus on 2023-12-27 07:16:29
Look forward to that, Eric, as I am trying to prove this to others.
Comment by Leonardo Josephus on 2023-12-14 17:07:32
You will know the truth and the truth will set you free (John 8:32)
Mind you, it is up to the individual to then leave. Some people cannot survive outside of prison when they are released, because they have become so acclimatised to that life, and therefore they actually prefer to remain inside.
The Spanish court seems to have been impartial in its ruling. Someone has shown a lot of insight, so they can see that the Organisation is a cult, because (and I quote mostly from your article, Eric)
a. It is a closed community
b. It is guided by a leader who exercises a charismatic power over its followers. How that sums up the way Rutherford controlled the followers, and how that sums up the Faithful Slave, who effectively claim to be inspired of God. Just recall their claim before the ARC when they said they were Guardians of Doctrine. Was that not a statement designed to show what they really felt they were, namely GOD, at least over the brothers and sisters.
c. The key element of this community is that it is cut off from society with its members being compelled to be very obedient to their rules., warnings and counsel. The court seem to have argued that the publications gave evidence of excessive control concerning matters that modern society would consider to be positive, such as university education, relationships with people of different faiths or lack thereof, marriage to persons with different religious sensitivities. I would not dispute that there are dangers in those areas, but the denial, by the Organisation, of an individual’s right to choose (by disfellowshipping and shunning of course). They can only justify their position by continually going on about how close to the end we now are. Take that away, and they are sunk.
The Organisation usually suggests that its advice is a protection, because they love us. A parent could make the same claim by not allowing their children to play with other children of the same age, by not letting them go out and play sports with friends, etc. Eventually that child may come to its senses and hold grudges against its parents. Or the child, in the case of Jehovah’s Witnesses, eventually might understand his or her parents and why they were so restrictive, and resolves never to treat their own children in such a way, which might then result in too much freedom. The child may then grow up to wish the parent had trained them better. There is no one way, but a child is like a coiled spring, it has often been said., and does need some control when it is very young, and, as it learns, that control is released, being replaced by advice. He (or she) may ignore the advice, and later wished he had listened. But at least he was given advice, even if some of it was incorrect..
The advice I got in my youth was pretty scanty. But the lines with my mother were at least open. OK, she got some things wrong, gave very little advice, and there were certainly times I wish she had listened better.
The Organisation offers no real lines of communication, and such as there are always goes back to what the publications say. If it was what the Bible said, then at least a person could be guided by how he read a particular passage. That might have led him to becoming a genuine Christian, led by the word of God. If that were the case, it would not be a cult.
But that is not the case, so well done whoever presided over that trial in Spain.Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2023-12-26 09:18:35
I will soon be releasing a dubbed English version of the News Conference in Spain held on the 18th of Dec. I think what is revealed there need to be shared with the world.
Comment by Psalmbee on 2023-12-14 09:36:37
Psalmbee
Psalmbee
27 days ago
The simple fact is that this is a cult with brainwashed members. It’s very easy to shed new light on the mind controlled contributors. It’s also almost impossible to put darkness on their light but Meleti is doing a fine job at doing just that.
Psalmbee, (1Pet 4:17)
This is what I wrote just 27 days ago, I thought it to even be more appropriate now.
Psalmbee
Comment by gavindlt on 2023-12-15 06:58:58
I think our father the great potter used this unrighteous vessel for his children. For every legal victory they had, who did it actually serve and benefit worldwide. The actual sons and daughters of God. They not knowing Christ and not knowing the Father thought it was a blessing for their organisation and now a century later we can all see that everything they accomplished was for Gods glory and the benefit of his children. Its a beautiful thing and its only going to get better! Praise God.
Comment by Northernexposure on 2023-12-14 19:04:07
Now isn't that special. Another legal setback for the Society. I remember the interview from last March with Mr Bardavio. It would seem the Society is running out of feet to shoot?
I remember a time about a decade ago when I was still attending the J W congregation, an Evangelical friend of mine called the JWs a cult. I was taken aback by that statement, and replied something to the effect that surely they could be considered a high control group, but labeling them a cult was a bit extreme. I had and still do have many friends, and my entire family are currently in the JW org. I now agree, and admit, they are under the spell of a cult. The JW religion is always the elephant in the room, and I'm at a total loss how to get thru to them. Fact, and logic does not work , nor does the Bible. (Suggestions Please)
Perhaps I'm sadistic, but i enjoy, and get pleasure watching the Society flounder, and suffer.
Thanks Meleti...I cant help but smile a little because of this latest news flash.
Keep up the good work of "Terminating" the Society's lies, and deceptions.
PS..Your Spanish seems convincingly authentic. I leave you with the few Spanish words I've learned thru the years..."Hasta la vista baby".
Comment by Leonardo Josephus on 2023-12-15 08:03:23
There are claims on line by the Bitter Winter site that say that the Victims lost their case and have been ordered to pay 5000 Euros in damages. Does that throw a cat among the pigeons ? What is the truth ? I guess we might have to wait for full details.
Reply by Meleti Vivlon on 2023-12-21 09:50:07
I have the official 74-page ruling in my hands. The organization of Jehovah's Witnesses lost this case against the "Associación Española de Victimas de los Testigos de Jehová". They have been ordered to pay Court Costs. The judge in this case was a woman. She took months to complete her ruling, persumably because of the international ramifications it would surely have. Here's a link to the Dec. 18 Press Conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqsPHZx1OAQ
Reply by ironsharpensiron on 2023-12-21 10:25:04
I can appreciate the irony here. The organisation doesn’t allow Women on judicial committees for this very reason (greater compassion) and as a whole Spanish Culture is more family oriented than Western Cultures, so in this case it was like a Perfect Storm