“You know, it is not about – so to say – suing out millions. But when I see that someone is in the right I simply try to help them regardless of how much money is at stake. And this is the legal principle which, given that it eventually prevails, can prove useful for hundreds or thousands of people.”
“The Jehovah’s Witnesses were organized in parishes which were all around the country. Though the parishes would not meet in full but rather in groups of ten. The study materials were being delivered secretly from abroad. Here they were translated and copied. Either by typewriter transcripts or by photocopying. Later, we also used mimeographs.”
“I had taught Bible to an elderly couple, leading their so-called biblical studies. It was in Prague’s Kobylisy quarter, in the street U Vlachovky. We had it all agreed there and were just discussing the topic. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. The lady went to open the door. The secret police stormed the place and charged me with leading an illegal gathering without state permit. Since they identified me as the leader of the gathering, they immediately took me into custody.”
Lubomír Müller was born in 1954 in Prague into the family of a tinsmith and a jeweler. In the late 1960s he had met people active as Jehovah‘s Witnesses. In 1969 he joined the church himself, and was soon after followed by his parents and sister. In 1973 he was admitted to the Faculty of Law, Charles University in Prague. At the beginning of his third year of studies he was arrested by the secret police whose corps had stormed one of the Jehovah‘s Witnesses meetings where he had lectured. He was sentenced to six months in prison for leading an illegal gathering and practicing spiritual work without state permit. Consequently, he was expelled from school. He had seen a number of cases of Jehovah‘s Witnesses being persecuted and imprisoned for their faith. He was only able to finish his studies after 1989. He then became an attorney, specializing in cases of individuals suing the state. To this day, he remains active in the Jehovah‘s Witnesses church.
Hrdinové 20. století odcházejí. Nesmíme zapomenout. Dokumentujeme a vyprávíme jejich příběhy. Záleží vám na odkazu minulých generací, na občanských postojích, demokracii a vzdělávání? Pomozte nám!
