UkraineConfirmed
On 28 October the Lviv District Administrative Court quashed a call-up order of 14 May 2026 against a man already on trial under Article 336 for evading mobilisation. It relied on a Cabinet rule excepting people suspected of that offence from those who may be called up, and linked the recruitment centre's failure to ask the police about criminal proceedings to the unlawful order. The court said the parties' other arguments did not bear on the dispute and did not rule on his religious objection.
· October 28, 2026 · 9 min read
UkraineConfirmed
ECRI's sixth report on Ukraine, published on 21 October 2026, relays allegations of more than 150 incidents of mistreatment of Witnesses taken to military units and reported figures on 967 criminal proceedings, and encourages the authorities to make non-military alternative service available during the war. In an appendix, Ukraine says the 150 figure counts reports rather than established violations, disputes that conscientious objection has been 'ruled out', and says the Ministry of Economy and Environment is preparing legislation.
· October 21, 2026 · 10 min read
CensorshipConfirmed
In 2017 a Russian court declared the Witnesses' New World Translation "extremist" — sidestepping a law that protects scripture by accepting expert testimony that the translation was not really a Bible. The bans have continued edition by edition: on 30 October 2026 the Justice Ministry listed two more printings, on a Murmansk court decision.
· Updated October 31, 2026 · 7 min read
BulgariaConfirmed
In Velev and Others v. Bulgaria a unanimous Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights held that Shumen's ordinance banning "religious propaganda at residents' homes" violated Article 9. The Court's own copy of the judgment records that it became final on 9 September 2026 under Article 44 § 2. No damages were awarded — the Court held the finding of a violation was redress enough — and each of the three applicants gets EUR 1,000 towards costs.
· Updated October 28, 2026 · 9 min read
ArmeniaConfirmed
Yerevan's mayor's office refused two of three planning applications for land the organisation bought in 2009 on the ground that neighbours complained about religious buildings, and deferred the third. On 1 October 2026 a three-judge Committee of the European Court of Human Rights held unanimously that no evidence of those complaints was ever produced and no law allowing the refusals was ever named, so the interference was not "prescribed by law" and breached Article 9. It awarded EUR 4,500 plus EUR 3,232 in costs. The judgment is final.
· October 1, 2026 · 11 min read
D.D.C. No. 24-cv-02523Confirmed
A federal judge in Washington threw the case out in September 2025 because the lawsuit papers had never been validly delivered. On 23 July 2026 he undid that dismissal and gave the Jehovah's Witnesses' Pennsylvania corporation 180 days to serve the defendants again, this time through the State Department. On 12 August the court clerk sent the papers to the State Department to pass on. As of the docket reviewed on 21 October, the court has decided nothing about whether a U.S. court can hear the claim at all.
· Updated October 21, 2026 · 10 min read
DoctrineConfirmed
A Governing Body update made the storage and reinfusion of a patient's own blood a matter of personal conscience — one more move in an 80-year doctrine that keeps shifting in one direction. Updated 19 September 2026: six months later the Governing Body extended the same principle to the four primary components of another person's blood; whole-blood transfusions remain prohibited.
· Updated September 19, 2026 · 6 min read
DoctrineConfirmed
A “Questions From Readers” article released on 18 September 2026 leaves the use of red cells, white cells, plasma and platelets taken from another person — and the decision to donate blood so components or fractions can be made from it — to each member's conscience, and says the congregation “will not get involved in that decision.” Transfusions of whole blood, and donating blood for one, remain prohibited. It is the second change to the blood doctrine this year.
· September 18, 2026 · 9 min read
DoctrineConfirmed
A July 15, 2011 study article urged Jehovah's Witnesses to shun former members it described, citing 1 Timothy 6:3-4, as 'mentally diseased.' The wording drew UK press coverage, a Portsmouth police complaint that produced no charge, and an Australian tribunal filing.
· July 15, 2011 · 3 min read
Blood doctrineReported
BBC News reported on 7 November that Isaac Valdez, 26, died on 26 August after he refused blood and his family, following his wishes, declined an operation requiring a transfusion. His twin wants an apology. Spokesperson Paul Gillies told the BBC the change took time. Whole blood remains prohibited.
· November 7, 2026 · 4 min read
MediaConfirmed
The three-part series, released March 2024 on RTL's streaming service, is built on testimony from 57 former members and covers abuse, shunning, and apocalyptic teaching.
· March 13, 2024 · 3 min read
Director Pablo Aguinaga described the survivors' testimonies as 'devastating; these were deeply broken people who had suffered greatly.'Confirmed
The three-part series Sobrevivir al Paraiso: Mas alla de los Testigos de Jehova premiered on HBO Max on 20 February 2026, tracing former Spanish members' accounts of abuse, shunning, and legal action. Reception has so far been mixed and thinly covered by major outlets.
· February 20, 2026 · 3 min read
