RUSSIA: Oldest Jehovah’s Witness – and first woman – jailed

In July 2020, Valentina Baranovskaya suffered a stroke. In February 2021, Abakan City Court jailed the 70-year-old for two years to punish her for meeting fellow Jehovah's Witnesses for worship, a verdict her lawyer described...

State Department: Russia Must ‘Immediately Cease’ Persecution Of Jehovah’s Witnesses

Russia must “immediately cease” persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a State Department spokesman told the Daily Caller News Foundation Thursday evening. The statement is a response to news that Russian agents had arrested five more Jehovah’s...

Days After U.S. Condemned Russia Over Religious Persecution, Jehovah’s Witnesses Say Agents Made Five More Arrests

Days after the United States condemned Russian persecution of religious groups, Jehovah’s Witnesses announced that agents arrested five more Jehovah’s Witnesses for their faith. A Russian court in Krasnoyarsk sentenced 47-year old Andrey Stupnikov to...

Russia Imprisons 6 Jehovah’s Witnesses for ‘Extremism’

Russia has sentenced six Jehovah’s Witnesses to multi-year prison terms on extremism charges, the religious organization said Thursday. Rights advocates decry Russia’s prosecutions of Jehovah’s Witnesses — which has been banned in Russia as an...

Association of Dachau Camp Survivors Calls on Russia to Stop Persecuting Jehovah’s Witnesses

An association founded by survivors of the Dachau concentration camp, the Lagergemeinschaft Dachau, is calling on Russian authorities to stop persecuting Jehovah’s Witnesses. The association condemned Russia’s systematic campaign of oppression against our brothers in...

Russia passes law that may ban opponents ranging from Navalni to Jehovah’s Witnesses from elections

Russian senators approved, Wednesday (2), by a large majority, a law which prohibits anyone considered extremist to stand for election in the country. The decision, in practice, paves the way for the ban on the...

Russian Jehovah’s Witness Found Guilty Of ‘Extremism’

A Jehovah’s Witness in the western Russian republic of Mari El has been found guilty of extremism and given a suspended 6 1/2 year prison sentence. [caption id="attachment_5461" align="aligncenter" width="897"] Ekaterina Pegasheva was held for...

UN Human Rights Committee Defends Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Right to Hold Religious Meetings

The authors of the communication are Aziz Aliyev, Jeyhun Aliyev, Vagif Aliyev, Gamar Aliyeva, Havva Aliyeva and Yevdokiya Sobko, nationals of Azerbaijan born in 1960, 1989, 1959, 1959, 1969 and 1958, respectively. They claim that...

Brother Roman Baranovskiy and His Mother, Sister Valentina Baranovskaya, Lose Their Appeal

On May 24, 2021, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Khakassia, Russia, denied the appeal of Brother Baranovskiy and his 70-year-old mother, Sister Valentina Baranovskaya. They will remain in prison. The court also confirmed...

RUSSIA: Widened ban on “extremists” exercising religious freedom

Religion Law amendments – which come into force in October – ban those the state considers – rightly or wrongly – to be extremists from participating in religious groups. They also ban commercial entities (such...