A/51/542/Add.1 English Page 18 77. Foreign non-European religious personnel reportedly sometimes have difficulty renewing their residence permits. 78. According to the Constitution and the Necessity Acts, proselytism is forbidden and is punishable, as demonstrated by the case of the Athens three and that of the three evangelist Air Force officers at Volos. 79. Three evangelists, an American named Stephens, a Greek named Macris and an Englishman named Williams were sentenced in 1984 to three and a half years in prison for proselytism. The sentence was set aside on appeal in 1986 on grounds of insufficient evidence rather than on grounds of religious freedom. 80. Three evangelist Air Force officers were convicted of proselytism following a complaint filed by the Orthodox chaplain, who accused them of endangering the unity of the nation (see the Special Rapporteur’s communication of 9 October 1992 and the Greek authorities’ reply of 12 February 1993 (E/CN.4/1994/79) and the supplementary reply of 8 August 1994 (E/CN.4/1995/91/Add.1)). 81. Aside from the aforementioned problems, the situation of Protestant religions in the religious sphere does not seem to be difficult, particularly with respect to religious publications, inasmuch as some of these Churches, including the Seventh Day Adventists, appear to have chosen to keep a low profile within Greek society. (ii) Education 82. The situation of Protestants appears to be identical to that of the Catholics. The Protestant representatives add, moreover, that they are subjected to the proselytism of the Orthodox Church, which permeates the school system. (iii) Other spheres 83. The observations made in the part relating to Catholics are equally pertinent here, particularly with regard to the overwhelming role of the Orthodox Church and the responsibility of politicians. (c) The Jehovah’s Witnesses (i) Religion Known religion and legal recognition 84. According to the decisions of the Council of State, Jehovah’s Witnesses are a known religion. However, the civil courts often take the opposite view on this subject. There are also difficulties in the context of national service, from which Jehovah’s Witness ministers are supposed to be exempt. Reportedly, the Ministry of Education and Worship follows the position taken by the Orthodox Church and states that the Jehovah’s Witnesses are not a known religion; this thinking is echoed by the Ministry of Defence, which accordingly decides to call up Jehovah’s Witness ministers. The latter challenge that decision in the /...