In a rare move, a Russian court has acquitted two Jehovah's Witnesses of extremism charges. The website of the religious group that is monitoring developments in Russia said on August 7 that a court in the Siberian city of Yugorsk found Ivan Sorokin and Andrei Zhukov, who were charged with organizing an extremist group's activities, not guilty. Russia banned the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2017 and designated it an extremist organization. Hundreds of Jehovah Witnesses have been handed prison terms on extremism charges since then. Rights watchdogs and Western governments have condemned Russia's crackdown on religious minorities. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here.
