A challenge to the 2021 COVID restrictions on public worship has been filed at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

A former EU Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Dr. Ján Figeľ, believes blanket bans on public worship are incompatible with the international human right to the communal exercise of religious freedom.

“Religious freedom as a basic human right deserves the highest level of protection. Prohibiting people from worship and communal religious exercise is profoundly illiberal and illegitimate. Worship bans were unfair and disproportionate. Our arguments submitted to the Court demonstrate clearly that blanket bans are violations of religious freedom under international human rights law,” stated Dr. Figeľ.

His case might be the first where Europe’s top human rights court rules on the blanket bans on public worship during the Covid pandemic. The decision would set a precedent for 46 European States with 676 million citizens.