Jehovah’s Witnesses say member of Russia’s banned religious denomination has been sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison, the harshest of dozens of cases
MOSCOW – Jehovah’s Witnesses say a member of Russia’s banned religion has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison, the harshest of dozens.
The European Bureau of the Confession said that 63-year-old Alexander Ivashin was convicted on Wednesday in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia.
Authorities said he had religious discussions with friends in another city via the video link. Russia banned Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2017 and declared the religious group an extremist organization.
Currently, 46 members are imprisoned and 27 under house arrest, the denomination says.