Some FORB News in Europe in brief in January – March 2026: Headlines
Presentation made at the webinar held by Human Rights Without Frontiers on 16 April on the topic “Freedom of Religion or Belief in Central Europe” with 11 speakers and over 60 attendees.
HRWF (19.04.2026) – Before giving the floor to the announced speakers, I would like to highlight a few news items about the deterioration of freedom of religion or belief in Europe.
Belarus: A 65-year-old Catholic priest was arrested a month ago and is still detained. The Catholic Church ignores the accusations.
Belgium: On 5 April 2022, the European Court of Human Rights condemned Belgium’s system of state recognition of religions and belief communities as being incompatible with international standards. Four years later, Brussels goes on turning a blind eye on this issue, keeps silent about it and fails to start implementing Strasbourg’s decision.
EU: After 480 days of waiting, the EU has finally daigned to nominate a new EU Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief. It was obviously not a priority as during 16 months, the EU remained deaf to the calls for help from victims of religious persecution around the world.
Finland: In March, the Finnish Supreme Court has found parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen guilty of “hate speech” on one charge relating to the expression of her beliefs on marriage and sexual ethics in a twenty-year-old church pamphlet.
France: In March, the Catholic abbott of a monastry accused of five charges was declared innocent on four of them, but was sentenced to a six-month suspended sentence for “psychological subjection.” The court decision has been appealed.
In early April, Jehovah’s Witnesses celebrated their Easter Festival called “Memorial of the Death of Christ” as usual with big regional gatherings in private and public places. In two cities at least, Dunkerke and Le Havre, there were attempts by members of the city councils hostile to Jehovah’s Witnesses to ban their religious ceremony.
Germany: On 23 February, a young Afghan man attacked a group of Jehovah’s Witnesses sharing their faith at the train station of Würzburg in Bavaria. Passersby overpowered the assailant, who was remanded in custody. One week later, officers found him dead in his cell!
In February, we denounced in a report a case of religious discrimination condoned by the European Union. The almost 4000 public tenders submitted by the Bavarian State explicidly excluded German citizens professing a specific identified faith: Scientology.
Norway: In 2022, the Norwegian State deregistered Jehovah’s Witnesses as a religious association and deprived them from state grants without giving valid reason.
Jehovah’s Witnesses challenged this decision in court. The appeal court unanimously declared invalid the restrictive measures of the State, but Norway seized the Supreme Court. A decision is forthcoming soon. What is mainly at stake here is the right of parents to educate their children according to their religious values.
Slovakia: A draft bill about the state registration of religious communities is being examined in the parliament. It is high contested by the Slovakian ombudsman because many religious communities will lose their status if the minimum membership of 50,000 adults is maintained.
Ukraine: Hundreds of criminal cases have been opened against Jehovah’s Witnesses because they object to military service and military enrolment in the war, whereas the State suspended recognizing the right to alternative civilian service in war times.
UK: Four vehicles belonging to a Jewish ambulance service were set on fire in London, causing several explosions. Police have arrested several suspects and are investigating the incident as an antisemitic hate crime.
More information about these and other cases
- on HRWF website https://hrwf.eu
- on request by email: international.secretariat.brussels@hrwf.org
