Following the ban of all activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, a man, Sergei Klimov has been sentenced to six years imprisonment for organising activities and prayer meetings.
The religious group was banned in the country as it has been tagged an extremist organisation.
The Russia State prosecutors had reportedly called for an even tougher seven-year sentence after accusing Klimov of heading a covert Jehovah’s Witness cell in Tomsk, recruiting new believers and collecting charitable donations.
Klimov refused to testify during his trial but Lawyers for the defence said they would appeal against the verdict.
The religious group was outlawed in 2017 by Russia's Supreme court after classifying the religious group as an “extremist organisation” the same designation used for Islamic State, Irish Times reported.
In Russia, all Jehovah’s Witnesses representative offices have been closed and believers are forbidden to proselytise or distribute religious literature.
