Isabella

Two years ago, Russian activist Vladimir Kara-Murza pointed out that Vladimir Putin’s Russia had more political prisoners than the USSR did when Andrey Sakharov began calling attention to them in the USSR in 1976 (rferl.org/a/activist-number-of-political-prisoners-in-russia-twice-what-it-was-in-ussr/30048022.html). In period since Kara-Murza made that calculation, Ellen Leafstedt of St. Antony’s College in Oxford says, the numbers of political prisoners in Russia have only increased and indeed continue to rise. In an article for the Riddle portal, she suggests that it is important to recognize their diversity (ridl.io/ru/nakazanie-bez-prestuplenija/). One can divide them into two categories, “people who land in prison for public expression of their political convictions and those who represent minorities who are deprived of their freedom for religious affiliations and convictions. The latter category is the more numerous, Leafstedt says. Among the most numerous of the second category are those charged with terrorism for their affiliation with groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir. Rapidly growing in number are Jehovah’s Witnesses whose denomination the Russian Supreme Court declared to be an extremist organization. Read more: https://www.eurasiareview.com/14032021-russia-now-has-more-political-prisoners-than-ussr-did-in-1976-oped/

El tribunal de Abakán, capital de la república rusa de Jakasia, declaró a Valentina Baranovskaya culpable de “participación en una organización prohibida”. Desde el 2017 está en firme una ley que le prohíbe a los ciudadanos de Rusia ser testigos de Jehová por ser considerado por el Ministerio de Justicia como un “movimiento extremista”, el mismo término con el que se puede señalar a una organización terrorista, a una secta, o a un grupo al margen de la ley. https://www.pulzo.com/mundo/mujer-69-anos-fue-enviada-prision-por-ser-testigo-jehova-PP1034549

Torreón.- La Policía Investigadora de Delitos detuvo a dos hombres señalados como los presuntos responsables del asesinato de siete miembros de una familia en Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. La información proporcionada por la Vicefiscalía Región Laguna del Estado de Durango permitió conocer que los supuestos homicidas responden a los nombres de Josué Alfonso y José Alfonso, quienes tienen 34 y 56 años de edad, respectivamente. Se precisó que ambos contaban con una orden de aprehensión por la comisión del delito de homicidio calificado y agravado en perjuicio de siete personas. El multihomicidio familiar del que se les acusa ocurrió el 17 de noviembre de 2013 en la colonia Morelos Zaragoza de Ciudad Juárez. De acuerdo con lo sucedido, aquella familia asesinada pertenecía a una congregación de los Testigos de Jehová. Su ausencia en un evento de la misma desató alarma y tras ello se conoció lo ocurrido. Las autoridades descubrieron que María del Carmen, de 60 años; Rosa María, de 30, María del Carmen, de 28; Rubén Romero, de 28; Daniel, de 6; así como Valeria y Abril de 4 años, fueron apuñalados en el pecho, cuello y abdomen. https://laopcion.com.mx/nacional/detienen-a-dos-asesinos-de-7-miembros-de-familia-20210306-313539.html

Se trata del esperado juicio oral y público en el que serán sentados en el banquillo de acusados Matías Vargas y Vito Luciano Panza, a quienes la Fiscalía y la querella les endilgan delitos contra la integridad sexual en perjuicio de dos chicas de la congregación, que los denunciaron siendo adolescentes. Las audiencias serán el 10, 11 y 12 de marzo, ante un Tribunal de Juicio compuesto por los jueces Carolina Castagno, Gustavo Pimentel y Elvio Garzón. El debate se iba a realizar el 6, 7 y 8 de mayo de 2020, en Paraná, pero fue suspendido por la pandemia que paralizó la actividad judicial. Según informó Entre Ríos Ahora las autoridades judiciales decidieron cambiar la sede del debate oral y público: se realizará en los Tribunales de La Paz. La causa se abrió en abril de 2017, cuando una joven de 18 años denunció en Facebook a los acusados, señalándolos como abusadores. El escrito motivó la intervención de la Secretaría de la Mujer de la Municipalidad de Santa Elena, que brindó contención a la joven y a su prima, que también denunció abusos. Ambas ratificaron sus dichos en el ámbito judicial, donde relataron que los hechos se dieron cuando tenían entre 8 y 11 años. La investigación penal preparatoria estuvo a cargo del fiscal de La Paz, Facundo Barbosa, quien imputó a Vargas (de alrededor de 42 años) y su cuñado Panza (32 años). Al primero le atribuyó los delitos de abuso sexual gravemente ultrajante agravado, abuso sexual simple reiterados, agravado por ser cometido por ministro de culto, más corrupción de menores; en tanto, a su cuñado le endilgó abuso sexual gravemente ultrajante agravado y corrupción de menores. https://www.analisisdigital.com.ar/judiciales/2021/02/28/juzgaran-en-la-paz-testigos-de-jehova-por-abuso-sexual-de-dos-menores

Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.- Este viernes 5 de marzo fueron detenidos padre e hijo en Ciudad Juárez, quienes presuntamente habrían asesinado a una familia utilizando armas blancas. Las víctimas de tal suceso fueron cuatro adultos y tres menores de edad, quienes de acuerdo con elementos de la Policía Investigadora de Delitos adscritos a la Vicefiscalía de La Laguna de Durango eran Testigos de Jehová. Los implicados que tienen una orden de aprehensión por el delito de homicidio calificado, fueron entregados con las autoridades correspondientes, las cuales determinarán su situación jurídica por el homicidio de siete miembros de una familia. Read more: https://www.tribuna.com.mx/seguridad/2021/3/5/padre-hijo-le-quitan-la-vida-miembros-de-una-familia-en-ciudad-juarez-ya-fueron-detenidos-232041.html

Russian authorities opened a criminal case this week against five Jehovah’s Witnesses on suspicion of “organizing and participating in the activities of an extremist organization” for allegedly promoting their namesake religious group, which is officially outlawed as an “extremist ideology” in Russia. Russia’s Investigative Committee, its main federal investigating body, announced the criminal case in a statement issued March 4. Five residents of the city of Syktyvkar, in Russia’s northwestern Komi Republic, allegedly “carried out active organizational actions aimed at continuation of the organization’s illegal activities and the involvement of new participants in it” over a four-year period between 2017 and 2021. “In particular, acting in secrecy, they carried out general management of the organization’s activities, coordinated illegal activities, organized and held meetings of members of a banned organization, and collected funds to finance the activities of a banned extremist organization,” according to the statement. Read more: https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2021/03/06/russia-expands-persecution-of-jehovahs-witnesses/

RNS) — A female Jehovah’s Witness has been sentenced to two years in a Russian prison for practicing her faith, marking the first time the country has imprisoned a woman since a 2017 ruling that declared the faith group “extremist.” Valentina Baranovskaya, 69, was sentenced Wednesday (Feb. 24) along with her son, Roman Baranovskiy, 46, who received a six-year sentence. “Today, Judge Elena Shcherbakova ruthlessly imprisoned a harmless, elderly woman and her son on baseless charges,” said Jarrod Lopes, spokesman for the Jehovah’s Witnesses. “The ruling was a mockery of the rule of law — both international human rights law as well as Russia’s constitution, which protects religious freedom.” In October, a Jehovah’s Witness named Yuriy Zalipayev was acquitted and shortly afterward six other members of the faith were given suspended sentences by a different judge. https://wordandway.org/2021/03/01/first-jehovahs-witness-woman-sentenced-in-russia-after-faith-declared-extremist/

Authorities are urging the Jehovah's Witnesses to contact them to get the ball rolling on the religious group's decision to join the national redress scheme for child sexual abuse survivors. The organisation says it will sign up because of new rules introduced by the federal government, which mean it would lose its charity status - and subsequent tax exemptions - for continuing to hold out. "Now that the law requires charities to join the scheme, Jehovah's Witnesses will comply," it said in a statement to AAP on Wednesday. "Jehovah's Witnesses believe that it is their responsibility before God to respect and co-operate with the authorities." A spokeswoman for Social Services Minister Anne Ruston has welcomed the statement but implored the organisation to contact authorities. "(We) encourage them to make urgent contact with the Department of Social Services so they can make good on this commitment," she told AAP. "It can take up to six months for institutions to complete the process of joining and the department would hope to work co-operatively and with haste to facilitate the Jehovah's Witnesses joining as quickly as possible. Read more: https://au.news.yahoo.com/jehovahs-witnesses-join-redress-scheme-061052602.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHbuBHuqnP7KNLb527EVBCNI9aRGuZaVR17ucV6gpZ6gudjs9fT539uAXbCWjB_VAf1U9idMlVhs83yiIa_UDL8I1JzAjES24c9U1blerB_57bzgWeL303HoiR8FESq-9RPGgV4s-0KjIq4umSvUtyV-Xy7uV1GeVbMS1O8PSygP

Los Testigos de Jehová pusieron al alcance de su comunidad biblias traducidas en decenas de idiomas, entre ellos el quechua, aymara y lengua de señas. El portavoz de los Testigos de Jehová de Cochabamba, Javier Quino, informó que, desde el lanzamiento en 2017, distribuyeron 6.520 biblias en aymara y 10.847 en quechua dentro del territorio nacional. Las traducciones de esos textos también fueron repartidas en países vecinos, como Argentina, Perú y Chile. HITOS Solo en 2020, esta religión publicó la Traducción del Nuevo Mundo en 33 idiomas. “Esta es la mayor cantidad en un año desde que se publicó su primera traducción en 1950”. Hasta el 31 de diciembre de 2020 estaba disponible en 195 lenguas. Uno de los muchos hitos en el trabajo de traducción durante 2020 se alcanzó el 15 de febrero, cuando Geoffrey Jackson, miembro del Cuerpo Gobernante de los Testigos de Jehová, anunció que había terminado de producirse la primera Biblia completa en lenguaje de señas americano. Hay proyección de publicar la Biblia, completa o en parte, en otros 36 idiomas durante esta gestión 2021. https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/cochabamba/testigos-jehova-traducen-biblia-quechua-aymara-lengua-senas/20210213115955807725.html

Robert Faircourt has been deaf since childhood, and American Sign Language is his primary language. While he learned English in school, reading and understanding the Bible has always been a challenge for the 74-year-old from West Valley City, who was baptized as a Jehovah’s Witness in 1969. Over the years, he has longed for a deeper connection with teachings of the Bible. Faircourt’s prayers were answered one year ago as the Jehovah’s Witnesses released what the church believes is the first complete Bible in American Sign Language, a text-to-video translation project that took more than 15 years to complete. Read more: https://www.deseret.com/faith/2021/2/13/22272637/how-jehovahs-witnesses-american-sign-language-bible-app-is-touching-hearts-utah-translation-video

On 10 February, a court in the eastern Lebap Region jailed 20-year-old Jehovah's Witness conscientious objector Nazar Alliyev for one year for refusing compulsory military service. He is the seventh conscientious objector known to have been jailed so far in 2021. All had offered to perform an alternative civilian service, but Turkmenistan does not offer this. Turkmenistan has rejected repeated United Nations calls to introduce such a service. Courts jailed six Jehovah's Witness conscientious objectors in January, five of them within the space of two days. As all six had already served earlier sentences on the same charges, courts handed all of them a two-year jail term, five of them in a strict-regime labour camp (see below). The jailing of Alliyev brings to 15 the number of young conscientious objectors to military service known to have been convicted and to be currently serving jail sentences (see full list below). This new case brings to 31 the number of known convictions and jailings of conscientious objectors since Turkmenistan resumed such jailings in January 2018. All of them are Jehovah's Witnesses. An increasing number of conscientious objectors to military service are serving second sentences for the same "crime". Nine of the current 15 known conscientious objector prisoners – including all six sentenced in January - are serving second sentences (see below). https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2636

La sombra de la muerte sigue afectando a la familia Sánchez en Ocaña, reconocida por tener entre sus integrantes a personas emprendedoras y artistas, que han tenido que despedir por cuenta de la desmedida violencia que azota a esta población de Norte de Santander. El macabro hecho reciente ocurrió la noche del lunes, cuando Luis Emel Sánchez Navarro, un reconocido comerciante del mercado de Ocaña, llegó a entregar uno de sus apartamentos en arriendo a Edwin Alejandro Páez Salazar, a quien dos pistoleros ya tenían planeado asesinarlo minutos después. Justo cuando los dos hombres estaban terminando de negociar el contrato, dos desconocidos que se movilizaban en una motocicleta se les acercaron y le dispararon inicialmente a Páez, de 31 años. Sin embargo, en medio del ataque, Sánchez Navarro de 48 años recibió un disparo en el cuello. Dolor en la familia Los dolientes de Luis Emel Sánchez aseguraron que, él siempre se dedicó a trabajar para darles el sustento a sus papás. Empezó vendiendo víveres en la plaza de mercado y luego también incursionó en la finca raíz. Su devoción religiosa lo llevó a pertenecer a un grupo de testigos de Jehová. “Los pistoleros segaron la vida de un hombre bueno, bondadoso, excelente persona”, dijo uno de sus familiares. Además, recordó que hace un mes, también fue asesinado el músico Alfredo Jaime Sánchez, uno de sus primos, quien fue atacado a balazos en medio de un atraco, cuando acababa de retirar un dinero de un banco. “Los delincuentes nos están causando mucho daño y dolor”, dijo el familiar de la víctima. Leer más: https://www.laopinion.com.co/sucesos/doble-homicidio-en-la-esperanza-de-ocana

Russian authorities have detained and placed under house arrest a Jehovah’s Witness in Siberia amid a continued crackdown on the religious group, which was labeled as extremist and banned in the country in 2017. The Investigative Committee said in a statement on February 17 that a 53-year-old resident of the town of Belovo in the Kemerovo region was placed under house arrest on suspicion of organizing a Jehovah’s Witnesses "cell." The man, whose identity was not disclosed, refused to cooperate with investigators citing Article 51 of the Russian Constitution, the statement said, adding that the suspect had been apprehended after the homes of several alleged members of the banned group were searched in the region. Article 51 states that no one shall be obliged to give incriminating evidence. The announcement came a week after a court in Russia's Krasnodar region sentenced a 63-year-old Jehovah's Witness, Aleksandr Ivshin, to 7 1/2 years in prison, the harshest sentence since authorities launched the campaign against the religious group. Read more: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-jehovahs-witnesses-arrest-jailed-persecution-religious-freedom/31107704.html

Six Jehovah's Witnesses jailed on "extremism"-related charges applied for early release after serving half their jail terms, but have been unsuccessful. Prison administrations opposed the applications with what Jehovah's Witnesses describe as "fabricated evidence" of violations of prison rules. Four of the prisoners were accused of smoking in the wrong place, but Jehovah's Witnesses do not smoke. Another Jehovah's Witness jailed since 2018 and a Muslim reader of Nursi's works jailed since 2017 should both become eligible to apply in summer 2021. Six Jehovah's Witnesses jailed on "extremism"-related charges for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief have so far failed in their applications for early release. On the fourth attempt, a court commuted the rest of Dennis Christensen's jail term to a fine, but this was overturned after prosecutors appealed and he remains in jail. Four jailed Jehovah's Witnesses from Saratov have similarly failed in their appeals for early release, while a fifth is still awaiting a hearing. Read more: https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2638

ussian security services raided the homes of several Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow on Wednesday, in an ongoing crackdown on the US-based religious movement. Moscow outlawed the Jehovah's Witnesses in 2017, labelling it an extremist organization and has since sentenced several members to lengthy jail terms. The Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said on Wednesday several "organizers and members" had been detained. Prosecutors, the FSB security services and the national guard carried out searches at 16 addresses, the committee said. Investigators said the Jehovah's Witnesses had established a branch in the capital where "secret meetings" were convened to study "religious literature". Jarrod Lopes, a New York-based spokesman for Jehovah's Witnesses, said the raids "are further proof that Russia is reverting to its muscle memory of Soviet repression". He added that they were a new escalation in the crackdown, as most of the raids on the believers had previously taken place in regions outside the Russian capital. http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/279309-moscow-police-raid-homes-of-jehovah-s-witnesses

Los servicios de seguridad rusos allanaron las casas de varios testigos de Jehová en Moscú el miércoles, en una campaña en curso contra el movimiento religioso con sede en Estados Unidos. Moscú prohibió a los testigos de Jehová en 2017, describiéndola como una organización extremista y desde entonces ha condenado a muchos miembros a largas penas de prisión. La comisión que investiga delitos mayores dijo el miércoles que varios “organizadores y miembros” habían sido arrestados. La comisión dijo que los fiscales, los Servicios de Seguridad Federal y la Guardia Nacional realizaron búsquedas en 16 direcciones. Los investigadores dijeron que los testigos de Jehová habían establecido una sucursal en la capital donde se llevaban a cabo “reuniones secretas” para estudiar “literatura religiosa”. https://www.infanciadeportiva.com.ar/la-policia-rusa-allana-las-casas-de-los-testigos-de-jehova/

A court in southern Russia has handed the country's longest prison sentence yet to an elderly Jehovah’s Witness leader for organizing an “extremist” group, the religious organization said Wednesday. Authorities accused Alexander Ivshin, 63, of organizing the activities of a banned organization, including hosting Bible discussions with friends via video link, until his April 2020 detention as part of mass raids in the Krasnodar region. Russia outlawed the Jehovah’s Witnesses as “extremists” in 2017. Alexander Ivshin, 63, was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for activities including hosting Bible discussions via video link. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/02/12/russian-jehovahs-witness-handed-longest-extremism-prison-sentence-a72916

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian law enforcement detained a number of Jehovah's Witnesses and conducted searches at 16 different addresses in Moscow on Wednesday as part of a new criminal investigation against the group, state investigators said. The Investigative Committee, which handles probes into major crimes, said the people had been detained for organising and taking part in the activities of a banned religious group. It said they had met in a flat in northern Moscow and studied the teachings of the religion despite being aware of the ban on the group's activities. Read more: https://kfgo.com/2021/02/10/russia-detains-jehovahs-witnesses-searches-properties-in-new-criminal-case/

The federal government has given institutions named and shamed in the royal commission into child sexual abuse an extra eight years to sign up to the national redress scheme. It is the second time the deadline has been extended, this time until 2028, a transcript of the parliamentary inquiry into the operation of the scheme shows. An independent review of the scheme is due to be finished by the end of February which should canvass issues that include further ways to ensure institutions join the scheme. Of the 158 institutions mentioned at the royal commission, three have not flagged their intention to join. A further 16 have said they are intending to join but have not yet signed up, and there are 11 institutions that have been assessed as “unable to meet the legislative requirements”. The Jehovah’s Witnesses is the only national organisation to declare they will not be joining. Jehovah’s Witnesses abuse survivor and advocate Lara Kaput said it felt like the government was “buying themselves time” while they decide how to handle institutions who have not signed up. “There is no clear government strategy to make the Jehovah’s Witness leaders accountable that has been shared with survivors,” she said. Full article: https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2021/02/07/national-redress-child-abuse-extension/

After 12 years of marriage, pregnancy was a surprise. Friends and family have helped in the midst of the pandemic. Hadassah and Tabitha were born at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle on June 24. They arrived three weeks early, delivered by cesarean, both weighing 5 pounds, 13 ounces. Today, the Flores home in the Lowell neighborhood is filled with all the joys and coos, hungry cries and wakeful nights that not one but two babies bring. Flores, 35, said that in sharing their story she hopes to let others know what helped them through fears of the virus, a higher-than-average-risk pregnancy and economic uncertainty. Both she and her husband are Jehovah’s Witnesses, and members of a Spanish-speaking congregation that meets at the Kingdom Hall on Everett’s Madison Street. Before coronavirus restrictions, they met every Sunday and Wednesday. Together, they also shared their faith through door-to-door visits, going out weekly. All that had stopped by late February 2020, after the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses closed assembly halls and halted in-contact preaching. “We quickly understood this was very serious,” she wrote. And by the time she was 6 months pregnant, she had also stopped in-person visits with friends and family. Hector Flores, now back on the job with a window and door company, was furloughed for three months starting last March. And Marisol, who had worked cleaning apartments in Seattle, was no longer able to do that. Savings they had for their growing family dwindled. With money tight and their spiritual routine interrupted, they turned even more to faith. Soon, they were joining weekly meetings of their congregation online via Zoom. Rather than going door to door, they preached biblical messages through letter writing and by phone. “Although our situation seemed dire, I was happy to have my husband at home keeping me company and helping me with the many, many things I could no longer do,” she said. “I was happy to see our friends from the Kingdom Hall online and felt their support.” Reading and sharing Scripture “made me feel uplifted and courageous,” said Flores, whose family came to the United States from Mexico when she was 6. In these worrisome times, she believes others may find comfort where she finds it, in the Bible — especially the Book of James, 4:8. It says, “Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you.” Read full article: https://www.heraldnet.com/news/faith-overcame-fear-for-these-grateful-new-parents-of-twins/

Christian Solidarity Worldwide has been informed that 70 Christians from evangelical and orthodox backgrounds were recently released from three prisons in Eritrea. On 1 February, 21 female and 43 male prisoners were released from Mai Serwa and Adi Abeito prisons, close to the capital city, Asmara. The prisoners had been held without charge or trial for periods of between two and 12 years. On 27 January, six female prisoners who were detained in September 2020 in Dekemhare, south-east of Asmara, were also released. The women were arrested after worshipping in public as they were walking down a street, an event which was caught on camera and circulated via social media. While the releases have been warmly welcomed, there is also speculation that they mark the latest effort by the Eritrean regime to distract international attention from the country's active role in the ongoing war in Ethiopia's Tigray region, where Eritrean troops have been accused of violence which may amount to crimes against humanity, war crimes and possibly genocide. On 4 December 2020, the government released 24 Jehovah's Witnesses, including the high-profile conscientious objectors Paulos Eyasu, Isaac Mogos and Negede Teklemariam, who had been held for 26 years, and whose cases were highlighted by the former UN Special Rapporteur on Eritrea in her final statement to the UN Third Committee in New York in October 2020. Read more: https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/41486

“I was told I’d stop aging and I’d be a teenager forever. I didn’t think I’d ever earn money for myself, have a bank account, own a home, fall in love, get married.” The author at age 11 in a 1988 school photo. “I was expecting the world to end in five years maximum,” she says. My teacher, having asked everyone who got 10 out of 10 right on the spelling test to put their hand up, went on to ask who got 9 out of 10. She proceeded from there, down to 4 out of 10. I put my hand up. I actually got 1 out of 10, but didn’t want to admit I didn’t study for the test. She wouldn’t have understood why. I was 9 years old and I wasn’t going to grow up. I didn’t need to learn to spell because I’d never need a job. It was 1986, my family were Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the JW governing body was confidently predicting that Armageddon would arrive by the mid-1990s. Everyone who survived that would live forever in Paradise on earth. We were promised this at each of the thrice-weekly meetings we attended. In Paradise, we’d build log cabins, make friends with wild animals and spend our time picking fruit with other Jehovah’s Witnesses. This was all lovingly illustrated for us in the Jehovah’s Witness literature. I tried to suppress the panic I felt whenever I perused the pictures. To me, it looked boring ― because it was going to last forever. I had many opportunities to consider forever, sitting on a plastic chair under fluorescent lights, during the interminable Jehovah’s Witness meetings. Forever meant that eventually, the whole world would be so familiar to me that there would be no wonders left. One day I would have had every possible conversation with every single person still alive on the planet. It gave me a feeling like vertigo. So I told myself to trust what I was learning because if everyone else wanted to live forever, it would surely somehow be marvelous, and a more-than-ample reward for all the activities we missed out on in the present-day world. There were plenty of those. No Christmas, no birthdays, no Easter. Technically, Jehovah’s Witnesses were allowed televisions, but we were warned frequently about “worldly influences” and my parents had elected not to have one. Higher education was frowned upon ― it was considered selfish not to use all your available time and energy trying to convert nonbelievers, so as to save their lives during Armageddon. Many young JWs left school as soon as legally allowed, took low-paying jobs, and spent all of their spare time and energy evangelizing, or “storing up treasures in heaven.” I banked on Armageddon coming quickly enough to save me from having to become a window cleaner. I was keen for it to arrive before I turned 16. This, the JW literature assured me, was almost certain. Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bdsm-bondage-dominant-submissive-model_n_6019919ac5b653f644d7ade2