E/CN.4/1993/62 page 37 Magistrates Court had acquitted the leaders of the Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation who were charged with the illegal use of the house of prayer and ordered the seals to be removed from this site on 2 July 1991. The house of prayer of the Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation in Alexandroupolis had been closed and sealed in 1990 because they had failed to secure an operating permit which is issued by the Ministry of Education and Cults. The Public Prosecutor who had initiated the proceedings appealed the decision before the seals were removed. The Orthodox bishop is reported to have exercised significant pressure on the local authorities in order to dissuade them from formally recognizing the Jehovah’s Witnesses place of worship. It has been alleged that from 1983 to 1991, 2,172 Jehovah’s Witnesses were arrested on grounds of proselytism. In 1991, 211 persons were arrested, 28 cases were brought to court and 8 cases were postponed. There were three cases of acquittal and one case of conviction which concerned several persons. According to additional information received, four Evangelist army officers are said to be facing four-year prison terms for proselytizing which were handed down by a military court in Volos, in central Greece. It has also been alleged that the existing laws on education make difficult the appointment of non-Orthodox teachers in Greece, in whatever type of school. In particular, the following cases of several persons belonging to the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith who were being denied teaching permits were reported to the Special Rapporteur: In October 1991, Ms. Valiki Pilaftsoglou had asked for a permit to teach French and biology at a private tuition centre. She was asked to fill in a form in which she was required to state her religion and started to work before obtaining the permit. Meanwhile, the local education authorities had asked the Minister of Education and Cults if they may deliver a teaching permit to a teacher who did not belong to the Orthodox faith. The case was still pending several months later. Mr. Theofilos Tzenos, an English teacher, had applied for a job in a private tuition centre but was refused a teaching permit by the Ministry of Education and Cults because he was not of the Orthodox faith. In September 1991, Mrs. Anastasia Nomidis received her English Language Proficiency Certificate issued by the University of Michigan. She asked for and obtained the "Certificate of Qualification to Teach" which is delivered by the Ministry of Education. She subsequently filled in two application forms in order to obtain a permit to teach and establish a tuition centre. Several months later, the Ministry answered verbally that they would not issue her a teaching permit on religious grounds. However, according to the information received, non-Orthodox teachers had been allowed to teach in public schools in the 1980s although they faced difficulties at times. On 20 May 1992, it was reported that five monks from the Church Abroad, Brother Oleg Shvetzoff, Father Mitrophan, Monk Nicholas Shevelckinsky, Hieromonk Ioannikios Abernethy and Archimandrite Seraphim Bobich, the Abbot of the Saint Elias Skete Monastery on Mount Athos, were forcibly evicted from their dwellings. It has been alleged that Bishop Athanasios, a representative