Watchdog

SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine -- A Moscow-imposed court in the Russian-annexed Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea has sentenced three Jehovah's Witnesses to prison terms amid an ongoing crackdown against the religious group.

The Crimean Solidarity human rights group said on October 6 that the Nakhimov district court in the city of Sevastopol sentenced Yevhen Zhukov, Volodymyr Maladyka, and Volodymyr Sakada to six years in prison each after finding them guilty of organizing activities for the group, which was labeled as extremist and banned in Russia in 2017 but is legal in Ukraine.

The court also ruled that, after serving their prison terms, the three men will be placed under parole-like controls for one year. They were also banned from publicly expressing their views and from publishing articles in media and on the Internet for seven years after finishing their prison sentences.

The case against Zhukov, Maladyka, Sakada, and a fourth believer, Ihor Shmidt, was launched in October 2020 after their homes were searched.

Shmidt was tried separately and sentenced to six year in prison in late October last year.

Since the faith was outlawed in Russia, many Jehovah's Witnesses have been imprisoned in Russia and Russian-annexed Crimea.

The United States has condemned Russia's ongoing crackdown on Jehovah's Witnesses and other peaceful religious minorities.

For decades, the Jehovah's Witnesses have been viewed with suspicion in Russia, where the dominant Orthodox Church is championed by President Vladimir Putin.

The Christian group is known for door-to-door preaching, close Bible study, rejecting military service, and not celebrating national and religious holidays or birthdays.

According to the group, dozens of Jehovah's Witnesses were either convicted of extremism or are being held in pretrial detention.

The Moscow-based Memorial Human Rights Center has recognized dozens of Jehovah’s Witnesses who've been charged with or convicted of extremism as political prisoners.

Amnesty International said dozens have been killed by Iranian security forces in the city of Zahedan in the southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province as unrest across Iran continues to build.

The rights group said in a report on October 6 that Iranian security forces unlawfully killed at least 66 people, including children, and injured hundreds of others after firing live ammunition, metal pellets and teargas at protesters, bystanders, and worshippers during a violent crackdown after Friday prayers on 30 September in Zahedan.

Since then, another 16 people were killed in separate incidents in Zahedan amid an ongoing clampdown on protests that have broadened in recent weeks since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died while in police custody after being detained for improperly wearing an Islamic head scarf, or hijab.

“The Iranian authorities have repeatedly shown utter disregard for the sanctity of human life and will stop at nothing to preserve power," Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary-general, said in the report.

"The callous violence being unleashed by Iran’s security forces is not occurring in a vacuum. It is the result of systematic impunity and a lackluster response by the international community,” she added.

Since Amini's death on September 16, anti-government street protests have rocked the country.

Reports overnight on October 5 said demonstrations took place in the cities of Talesh, Kermanshah, Shiraz, Qom and Tehran.

In the northern Iranian city of Talesh, a group of young people blocked the streets by lighting fires, while in the western city of Kermanshah, a group of women rallied under the slogan "Women, Life, Freedom." In a sign of support, passing cars continuously honked their horns.

In the holy Shi’ite city of Qom, many people gathered in the residential areas of the city and chanted "Don't be afraid; We are all together."

In Tehran, groups of girls took off their hijab while accompanied by boys, and then marched defiantly in the Tajrish neighborhood, while in another part of the city a group of protesters confronted security forces with the slogans "Shameless" and "Death to Khamenei," a reference to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In a video sent to RFERL’s Radio Farda, security forces on motorcycles can be seen firing tear gas at protesters' cars in Tehran's Parkway neighborhood.

Amnesty's death toll for Zahedan comes after Human Rights Watch said that at least 154 people, including nine children, have been killed over the past 18 days during the protests over Amini's death.

"Iranian authorities have ruthlessly cracked down on widespread anti-government protests with excessive and lethal force throughout Iran," HRW said on October 5.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda