Supreme Tribunal of Spain (Tribunal Supremo), Section II, No. 8697/2007, 28 December 2007

Recourse against conviction for electoral offence committed by a Jehovah’s Witness. Evaluation of the applicability of the exemption of the exercise of the right to religious freedom.

Art. 143 Organic Law n. 5/1985 about the General Electoral Regime
Art. 20 Spanish criminal code

The exemption of the exercise of the right to religious freedom is not applicable in the case of electoral crimes when the fulfilment of the electoral duty does not entail an infringement of the ideological and religious freedom of a defendant who is a Jehovah's Witness, since the mere participation in the polling station does not imply the obligation to express political opinions, which is what is prohibited by the beliefs of the accused himself. In fact, the electoral civic commitment does not prevent one from professing any other idea and opinion, but as a citizen forming part of the social body, each one is obliged to accept the essential rules that form the structure of the society in which he lives and from which he receives benefits.

(The court of second and last instance thus upheld the sentence of conviction, to a fine and disqualification from voting for one year, against a Jehovah’s Witness who – having received the notification to attend the polling station on the occasion of a referendum – had sent a letter explaining the reasons for his conscientious objection and had thus felt free from constraints.)