E/CN.4/1993/62 page 35 32. In a communication sent on 9 October 1992, addressed to the Government of Greece, the following information was transmitted by the Special Rapporteur: "It has been reported that members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith have continued to be imprisoned for refusing conscription. The following cases were brought to the attention of the Special Rapporteur and summarized as follows: Mr. Anastasios (Tasos) Georgiadis, a religious minister whose appointment had been confirmed by the Prefectures of Larissa and Karditsa, saw his application for exemption from military service for religious reasons rejected on 17 September 1991. The Serres Recruiting Office argued that the Holy Synod of the Greek Church had informed them that the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith was not a recognized religion because its practice contravened two articles of the Greek Constitution: Article 13.1 which prohibits religious rites offending public order or moral principles and proselytism; and Article 4.5 which requires every able-bodied Greek citizen to contribute to the defence of the Fatherland. On 20 January 1992, Mr. Georgiadis was detained at Nafplion Military Camp after he had refused to put on a military uniform and on 29 January, he was transferred to the Avlona Military Prison. On 17 March, the Athens Military Court recognized him as a religious minister of a known religion and pronounced a sentence of acquittal. He was released the following day. Nevertheless, despite this ruling, the Recruiting Section of the General Headquarters for National Defence is reported to have persistently refused to recognize Mr. Georgiadis’s status as religious minister and he was imprisoned for the second time on 4 April at the Nafplion Military Camp. On 8 May 1992, the Athens Military Court acquitted Mr. Georgiadis for the second time and ordered his release, ruling at the same time that it was up to the Recruitment Office to decide whether or not to issue discharge papers. The Recruitment Office once again refused to do so and Mr. Georgiadis was imprisoned for the third time on 22 May. His case was examined by the Council of State on 16 June but no decision has been taken so far and no date has been set for his trial. Mr. Georgiadis is the fourth Jehovah’s Witnesses minister whose application for exemption from military service was rejected by the military authorities since Law 1763/1988 came into force and despite the three decisions issued by the Council of State emphasizing that the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith was a recognized religion and asking for the immediate release of three ministers: decision 3601/90 concerning the release of Mr. Daniel Kokkalis, decision 1354/91 concerning the release of Mr. Timothy Kouloubas and decision 1355/91 concerning the release of Mr. Dimitrios Tsirlis. According to the information received, 415 conscientious objectors who belong to the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith are currently imprisoned in Greece. They have reportedly been sentenced to terms of imprisonment of four years which they would be able to reduce to approximately three years through work. It has also been reported that Jehovah’s Witnesses who are detained in military prisons continue to be denied visits by their religious leaders, in contrast to prisoners belonging to the Greek Orthodox faith. The following cases concerning the sentencing of Jehovah’s Witnesses on charges of proselytism were also brought to the attention of the Special Rapporteur: