STRASBOURG. - The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights issued the final verdict on Bayatyan vs. Armenia case that registered violation of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (freedom of thought, conscience and religion), reported the official website of European Court of Human Rights.

The case concerned a conviction of 2003 that goes as follows: a Jehovah’s Witness refused to perform military service for ideological reasons. He was imprisoned, despite the commitment made by Armenia to the Council of Europe on 25 January 2001, to enter civil service as an alternative to compulsory military service for three years and to pardon all conscientious objectors for ideological reasons sentenced to prison.