Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution as an Instrument for Character Assassination

The Greek government has lost a number of religious freedom cases to the Witnesses at the European Court. On this occasion, it agreed to recompense Tsavachidis for the costs he incurred in bringing the case. As part of the settlement, the government also stated that “the Jehovah's Witnesses are not, and will not in the future be, subject to any surveillance on account of their religious beliefs.”

The European Court struck out the case, noting that the settlement was consistent with the European Convention on Human Rights. The settlement is a tacit admission by a member of the family of European nations that subjecting individuals to covert surveillance on account of their religion violates the Convention.

Neither did the state's favorite argument against religious minorities – that their beliefs and practices do not amount to a genuine religion – stand up before the European Court. In September 1996, the Court ruled in Manoussakis v. Greece that, “The right to freedom of religion as guaranteed under the Convention excludes any discretion on the part of the State to determine whether religious beliefs or the means used to express them are legitimate.”