On 26 August, the European Court of Human Rights declared in the case Erikas Rutkauskas v. Lithuania that the religious freedom of a Jehovah’s Witness minister was violated due to the denial of access to alternative civilian service instead of mandatory military service.
This marks the second similar case Lithuania has lost in Strasbourg recently. In June 2022, the court ruled in favor of another Jehovah’s Witness minister, Stanislav Teliatnikov, who was living in Turkey at the time and refused military service in 2015 on religious grounds, seeking an alternative.
The applicant, called under the Law on Conscription for military service, refused based on his religious beliefs. His request for civilian service was ignored, and on 7 September 2015, the military authorities decided not to exempt him from mandatory service. He appealed to the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court, which dismissed his appeal on 31 October 2017.
He then appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court, requesting the case be referred to the Constitutional Court to question whether the lack of exemption for conscientious objectors in the Law on Conscription violated religious freedom rights. On 16 October 2019, the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the decisions, referencing previous rulings, and maintained the constitutional obligation of citizens to perform military or alternative national defense service, applicable to all ministers, traditional or non-traditional.
The applicant argued under Article 9 of the Convention that he was denied the right to refuse military service despite his religious beliefs, and Lithuanian law did not provide for alternative civilian service.
The European Court emphasized established principles on freedom of thought, conscience, and religion as part of a “democratic society” and the States’ margin of appreciation in this domain, noting precedents including Bayatyan v. Armenia and Teliatnikov v. Lithuania.
In Teliatnikov’s case, the Court determined the mandatory military service system did not fairly balance societal interests and the individual’s obligations. Rutkauskas, similarly seeking exemption from military service on religious grounds, referred to these in his 2015 request to the military authority.
The European Court found a violation of Article 9 of the European Convention, ruling Lithuania must pay EUR 1,000 for costs and expenses.
Laurynas Šedvydis, chair of the Lithuanian parliament’s Human Rights Committee, stated that the system needs reform to provide better service alternatives for individuals based on religious or personal beliefs, suggesting service in the health sector as valuable.
Lithuania reinstated mandatory military service in 2014 after Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Leave a Reply