RUSSIA: “Extremism” prosecutions of elderly Jehovah’s Witnesses
Courts have convicted 467 Jehovah’s Witnesses from 2017 up to 18 March 2024, and ultimately acquitted none. Over a quarter of the Jehovah’s Witnesses prosecuted have been aged 60 or older, with 12 individuals aged at least 80. The sentences imposed hav…
Courts have convicted 467 Jehovah's Witnesses from 2017 up to 18 March 2024, and ultimately acquitted none. Over a quarter of the Jehovah's Witnesses prosecuted have been aged 60 or older, with 12 individuals aged at least 80. The sentences imposed have ranged from heavy fines to some of the longest prison terms â of 7 years or more â handed down to Jehovah's Witnesses. On 15 March, 72-year-old Sergey Vasilyev became the oldest Jehovah's Witness currently imprisoned for exercising his right to freedom of religion and belief after he was sentenced to 3 years' imprisonment.
