Victims of Jehovah's Witnesses have the right to call the organization a "destructive sect" without fear of prosecution, a Spanish court has ruled, a rare decision affecting a powerful movement that usually files complaints against those who denounce its practices.

A Madrid court on April 16 upheld an initial ruling in favour of the Spanish Association of Victims of Jehovah's Witnesses (AEAVTJ), finding that its name and criticisms did not constitute an illegitimate attack on honour, according to the Provincial Court decision consulted Tuesday by AFP.

In short, the court explicitly validates the right to criticize and denounce the organization's internal control mechanisms. The organization did not respond to requests for comment from AFP.

Designating Jehovah's Witnesses as a "destructive sect", officially claiming to be "victims" and forming an association including the designation of victims of Jehovah's Witnesses "falls under freedom of expression", we can read in the ruling which ratifies a first instance judgment dating back to the end of 2023.

To consider that belonging to Jehovah's Witnesses "harms health, endangers lives or creates victims" also falls under freedom of expression, "even if it is unpleasant or hurtful" to the religious movement, it is also written.

Founded in the 1870s in the United States by Charles Russell, Jehovah's Witnesses consider themselves the only ones to restore an original form of Christianity.

They are regularly accused of cult-like practices due to their strict precepts, and the organization does not hesitate to file complaints against its detractors.

Six Spanish Jehovah's Witnesses had also launched legal action against the AEAVTJ contesting the use of the word "victims" in the name of the association and demanding its dissolution.

"This is the first time that, in a country, it is claimed that a religion can be described as a 'destructive sect', even if it is properly registered as a religion," Carlos Bardavío, lawyer for the victims of Jehovah's Witnesses, told AFP.

According to the council, this decision, which can still be appealed to the Spanish Supreme Court, has "international implications", especially if it is brought before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) by Jehovah's Witnesses and ratified there.