A court in the Russian Far Eastern town of Belogorsk on September 13 sentenced a 71-year-old Jehovah’s Witness who has cancer to four years in prison after finding him guilty of organizing activities of a banned organization. The probe against Vladimir Balabkin was launched in March 2021 amid an ongoing crackdown on the religious group. Russia banned the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2017 and designated the religion an extremist organization. Rights watchdogs and Western governments have condemned Russia's crackdown on religious minorities. To read the original story from RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here.
Cancer-Stricken Jehovah's Witness Gets Four Years In Prison In Russia's Far East
Stacks of booklets of a Jehovah's Witnesses in a Russian court (file photo)