Several Jehovah's Witnesses have been sentenced in Russia recently for being members of the religious group that Moscow has labeled as extremist and banned in the country, the RFE/RL website reports today (November 30, 2020).
A court in the Siberian city of Omsk today sentenced 48-year-old Sergei Polyakov to three years in prison after finding him guilty of "organizing the activities of an extremist group."
Polyakov's wife, Anastasia Polyakov, and two other Jehovah's Witnesses, Dinara Dyusekeyeva and Gaukhar Bektemirova, were convicted of "taking part in the activities of an extremist group" and handed suspended two-year prison terms each.
For decades the Jehovah's Witnesses have been viewed with suspicion in Russia , where the dominant Greek Orthodox Church is championed by President Vladimir Putin.
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