Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MOSCOW (AP) — Jehovah's Witnesses say one of their followers has been fined 350,000 rubles ($5,350) in Russia on an extremism charge related to his membership in the religious group.
The group says Sergei Skrynnikov was found guilty by a court in the Russian city of Oryol of participating in the activity of an extremist organization.
Russia officially banned Jehovah's Witnesses in 2017 and declared the group an extremist organization.
His case follows that of Danish Jehovah's Witness Dennis Christensen, who was sentenced to six years in prison in February. He had been detained in 2017 while leading a prayer meeting in Oryol.
Before the ban, the world headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses claimed about 170,000 adherents in Russia.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
