A Russian court in Siberia has handed a six-year prison term to a Jehovah's Witness amid an ongoing crackdown on the religious group, which has been banned in the country since 2017.
A court in the city of Krasnoyarsk sentenced 64-year-old Anatoly Gorbunov on February 2 after finding him guilty of organizing the activities of an "extremist organization."
Prosecutors sought an eight-year prison term for Gorbunov. His defense team said the court's ruling will be appealed.
The probe against Gorbunov was launched in March 2020. He was ordered not to leave the city at the time.
Since the faith was outlawed, many Jehovah's Witnesses have been imprisoned in Russia.
According to the group, dozens of Jehovah's Witnesses have either been convicted of extremism or have been held in pretrial detention.
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, rejection of military service, and refusal to mark national and religious holidays or birthdays.
