Jehovah’s Witnesses in Spain Face Contradictory Court Rulings on Honor Claims

The Spanish branch of Jehovah’s Witnesses faced a series of legal challenges in 2023 and 2024, involving conflicting rulings from the same court in Torrejón de Ardoz. The cases were initiated by the Jehovah’s Witnesses against the Spanish Association of the Victims of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (AEVTJ), an anti-cult group that labels the religious group as harmful to its “victims.” The AEVTJ has been known to use accusations commonly associated with anti-cult organizations worldwide.

On October 2, 2023, the First Section of the Court of First Instance of Torrejón de Ardoz ruled that the newspaper “El Mundo” had published false information provided by the AEVTJ. The court ordered the newspaper to publish the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ response and cover the litigation costs. A week later, the same court found Enrique Carmona, the Secretary of the AEVTJ, guilty of violating the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ right to honor through statements in one of his videos.

In contrast, a separate case where Jehovah’s Witnesses and their Spanish branch sued the AEVTJ directly was heard by the Sixth Section of the same court. Judge Raquel Chacón Campollo, who has shown clear hostility toward the Jehovah’s Witnesses, ruled on December 5, 2023, that the AEVTJ’s statements fell within the limits of freedom of expression, even if some claims were potentially untrue.

Further complicating the matter, the same judge later ruled against the Jehovah’s Witnesses in favor of Gabriel Pedrero, a member of the AEVTJ, who had been sued for posting online statements that offended the religious group’s right to honor. The statements in question, though not identical across all cases, were similar and originated from the same AEVTJ sources.

The conflicting rulings from the same court created an unusual legal situation. Appeals were filed, but they were heard by different sections of the Audiencia Provincial Civil of Madrid. The Eleventh and Eighteenth sections delivered contradictory decisions, leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses without a clear resolution. As of February 21, 2025, the Eleventh Section had issued its decision, but the situation remains unresolved.

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