Help Defend an Ex-Jehovah's Witness Activist

As you may know, some organizations have increasingly turned to legal tactics to silence their critics—Jehovah’s Witnesses being no exception. In recent years, the multi-billion-dollar Watchtower Society has used its financial power to suppress individual voices, echoing similar strategies used by other organizations.

One person facing this challenge is Jari-Pekka Peltoniemi, an activist who has worked tirelessly for years to expose problematic practices within the Jehovah's Witness community. In Finland, he has been instrumental in raising public awareness about issues like shunning—a deeply harmful practice that has gained extensive coverage in Finnish media, thanks to efforts by Jari-Pekka and other former Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Jari-Pekka shared audio from an online congregation meeting where Jehovah’s Witnesses discussed shunning, along with photos of two elders leading the discussion. This led to a legal battle. Initially, a lower court in Finland sided with Jari-Pekka, recognizing his right to shed light on these practices. However, a higher court later reversed the decision, ruling in favor of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, claiming the elders’ privacy had been violated, despite their role as representatives of the organization.

Now, Jari-Pekka faces the burden of covering the legal fees of this case. This expense—approximately €20,000—is overwhelming for Jari-Pekka, who lives on a modest pension and lacks the resources to fund this costly legal fight. Jari-Pekka is now appealing to the highest court in Finland, but he needs funds to continue the battle. He also needs his pension to buy food, medicine and other necessities, instead of paying for a legal fight.

We have already collected approximately 2000 euros from former Jehovah’s Witnesses in Finland to support Jari-Pekka. We are now reaching out to our international brother/sisterhood of former Jehovah’s Witnesses and others who disapprove of silencing critics of this religion/cult/business empire.

Jari-Pekka’s case has drawn national attention in Finland, including a report by Finland’s public broadcaster, Yle. You can read more here and here (using Chrome or another browser to translate from Finnish to your preferred language).

Your support can help Jari-Pekka meet these overwhelming legal costs and stand against the Watchtower Society’s attempts to silence him. Every contribution, no matter the size, brings us closer to this goal.

This fundraising campaign has been approved by Finnish authorities, who oversee monetary collections in Finland. The collected funds will be reported to the relevant authorities as required by law. Due to Finnish legal regulations, the maximum amount we are allowed to collect at one time is €10,000. If necessary, we may organize additional campaigns to cover the full legal expenses.

Here are the details of this collection:

Crowdfunding Permit Number: RA/2024/1888

Organized by: Joni Valkila who is a former Jehovah's Witness and works for the organization Support for Victims of Religions: www.uut.fi.

Use of Funds: Covering Jari-Pekka Peltoniemi’s legal fees.

Secondary Use: Should excess funds remain after covering legal expenses, they will be donated to the organization Support for Victims of Religion. For more information, visit: https://www.uskontojenuhrientuki.fi/english/.

Would you like to share your comments on this? Please visit a Reddit discussion on this fundraising campaign.

Thank you for your support in helping Jari-Pekka fight for justice.