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Five More Jehovah s Witnesses Accused Of Extremism In Russia
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Five More Jehovah s Witnesses Accused Of Extremism In Russia
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NED PRICE, DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON
We are disturbed by reports that a Russian court sentenced Valentina Baranovskaya and her son, Roman Baranovsky, to terms of two and six years in a Russian penal colony, respectively, simply for being practicing Jehovah’s Witnesses. The sentencing of Valentina, a 69-year-old stroke victim, is particularly cruel. It also marks the first time a Russian court has sentenced a female Jehovah’s Witness.
The decision by the Russian court is the latest development in an ongoing crackdown on members of religious minority groups in Russia. Since the Russian Supreme Court designated the Jehovah’s Witnesses an “extremist” organization in 2017, 52 Jehovah’s Witnesses have been imprisoned for exercising their beliefs, including Alexandr Ivshin, who was recently given a record-length 7.5 year sentence for a Jehovah’s Witness by a Russian court.
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The State Department criticized the Russian government over the sentencing of a 69-year-old woman and her son for being Jehovah’s Witnesses, calling the action “particularly cruel.”
Valentina Baranovskaya, who is recovering from a stroke, was sentenced to a two-year term in a penal colony, according to a Thursday press release. Her son, Roman Baranovsky, received a six-year sentence.
The Russian Supreme Court designated the Jehovah’s Witnesses as an extremist group in 2017. Since that declaration, the State Department noted that 52 members of that denomination have been imprisoned. Sixty three year old Alexandr Ivshin received a seven-and-a-half-year sentence earlier this month, the Moscow Times reported.