E/CN.4/1993/62 page 36 On 29 March 1989, the Court of Florina reportedly sentenced four women belonging to the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith to five months’ imprisonment, a fine of 500,000 drachmas and a six months’ police surveillance on grounds that they were "guilty of the act of proselytism on members of another faith in favour of their religion". The prison sentence was subsequently commuted. The four women are: Alexandra Despoti, a 30-year-old housewife, Eleni Didaskalou, a 23-year-old seamstress, Eugenia Theodoridou, a 21-year-old worker and Elena Batodaki, a 22-year-old worker. The four women were reportedly going from house to house in Florina on 26 July 1988 selling "Watchtower" and "Awake" magazines and exchanging ideas about their beliefs with the inhabitants of the town. A complaint against them was allegedly filed by an Orthodox priest, Mr. Evripides Taskas (63). On 27 November 1991, the Tessalonica Court of Appeal was to issue its final verdict concerning the defendants, but the trial was reportedly postponed because of a strike by the judicial staff. According to the information received, on 15 November 1992, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg was scheduled to hear an appeal made by Mr. Minos Kokkinakis, a retired businessman in his eighties who belongs to the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith. On 2 March 1986, he and his wife were arrested when the police found them reading passages of the Bible and talking about pacifism in biblical terms with their friends. Mr. Kokkinakis’ appeal concerned the 10,000 drachmas fine and the prison sentence of four months which were imposed on him by the Magistrates Court of Lasithi on charges of proselytism. Mr. Kokkinakis has already served seven prison terms over the past 50 years and has spent four periods in exile away from his home in Crete. He served the longest of the sentences, 18 months, in the 1940s for conscientious objection to military service, while the remaining sentences were for proselytism. The case of the Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation of Gazi, in Heraklion (Crete), was reported in the following terms: in 1983, the congregation had asked for a permit to convert a leased property into a place of prayer and worship. In the three-year contract which was drawn between the owner and the tenants, it was clearly stated that the property would be used for religious purposes. The local office of the Orthodox Church was informed about the contract and the priest had lodged a complaint against the tenants, Titos Manousakis, Konstantinos Makridakis, Kyriakos Baxevanis and Vasilios Hatzakis, for failing to obtain a permit which is issued by the local Orthodox Church authorities and by the Ministry of National Education and Cults. The defendants were acquitted by the First Instance Court and, after an appeal by the Prosecutor, by the Magistrates Court. They therefore resumed using their place of prayer and worship and placed a sign at the entrance indicating its religious identity. However, the local Orthodox priest alleged that the posting of this sign amounted to proselytism. Following a second appeal lodged by the Public Prosecutor of the Magistrates Court, the defendants were sentenced on 15 February 1990 to a three-months’ prison term and a fine of 30,000 drachmas. On 19 March 1991, the Supreme Court (Areopagos) denied the petition for cassation which had been lodged by Mr. Manousakis and sentenced the defendants to the payment of the 18,000 drachmas court expenses. With regard to a case already referred to in his previous report (E/CN.4/1992/52), the Special Rapporteur was informed that the Alexandroupolis