A court in Russia's Irkutsk region in Siberia sentenced nine Jehovah's Witnesses to various prison terms on March 5 as a crackdown on the religious group continues. The court handed seven years in prison to six Jehovah's Witnesses on a charge of financing an extremist group. Two believers were sentenced to six years and four months each on a charge of organizing the activities of an extremist group, and one person was convicted of taking part in the activities of an extremist group and sentenced to three years in prison. Russia designated the religion as an "extremist organization" in 2017. To read the original story from RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here.
Siberian Court Hands Prison Terms To Nine Jehovah's Witnesses
Dozens of Jehovah’s Witnesses have been imprisoned in the country since Russia banned the religious group in 2017 and designated it as an "extremist organization." (file photo)