Russian Jehovah's Witness sentenced to prision for religion
A 66-year-old Jehovah’s Witness in Russia has received a six-year sentence for practicing his faith, a particularly harsh penalty in a country where rape is punishable with a three- to six-year prison term and kidnapping with a five-year term.
Yuriy Savelyev had already been in pretrial detention for two years before his sentencing on December 16.
Savelyev is the fifth member of the religious group to receive a six-year sentence since the country declared the faith group “extremist” in a 2017 Supreme Court ruling.