A Russian court has convicted three followers of the Jehovah’s Witnesses of participating in a religion banned for extremism. They were given suspended sentences of up to 2 1/2 years.
“Russian authorities today are following in the footsteps of their Soviet predecessors”, said a spokesman for the Jehovah’s Witnesses world headquarters in Warwick, New York.
The country has convicted 24 members since 2017, when it banned the denomination. Russia is known for its laws intended to crack down on opposition activists and religious minorities.
In November, Russia angered the West with by announcing a law that allows the Kremlin to label journalists and ordinary people as foreign agents if they collaborate with foreign media organisations and receive financial or other material support from them.
Last week, one of Russia’s elite universities, announced it is considering banning its students and staff from performing political speech.
Three Jehovah’s Witnesses convicted in Russia amid crackdown
EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV
Russian police officers and a local Cossak stand guard in front of Donetsk City Court during a sentence hearing of former Ukrainian military pilot Nadezhda Savchenko in Donetsk, Rostov Region, Russia, 22 March 2016. Nadezhda Savchenko was found guilty in assistance of killing two Russian TV journalists. Prosecutors asked the court to sentence Nadezhda Savchenko to 23 years in prison.
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