In the Rostov Region, a Jehovah’s Witness was sent to a prison for 8.5 years

The Taganrog City Court of the Rostov Region convicted two followers of the Jehovah’s Witness Church — Alexander Skvortsov and Valery Tybiy — on charges of extremism. They were sentenced to 7 years in prison and 6 years of probation, respectively, the website of the religious organization reported.

61-year-old Skvortsov and 46-year-old Tybii were found guilty of organizing the work of an extremist organization. The Russian Supreme Court of Russia recognized the Jehovah’s Church as such in 2017.

Skvortsov was arrested in December 2021. He was engaged in missionary activities, conducted secret services and educational classes, which violated Russian laws, the investigation insisted. At the same time, Tibia’s apartment was searched, but the case against him was opened only in March 2022. Two months later, he was placed in the same pre-trial detention center where Skvortsov was held.

• Russian authorities have been persecuting Jehovah’s Witnesses since the late 2000s. They were completely banned in 2017. According to believers’ estimates, over the past six years, 732 people have been prosecuted in Russia and the annexed Crimea, and about 2,000 searches have been conducted.
• In June 2022, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia’s ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses and their persecution was illegal, ordered the release of the convicted believers and paid them 63 million euros in compensation. Russia no longer executes court decisions.