Week-ending 12 June 2020
Another Jehovah’s Witness Gets Lengthy Prison Term In Russia
PSKOV, Russia — A court in Russia’s northwestern city of Pskov has sentenced a Jehovah’s Witness, Gennady Shpakovsky, to 6 1/2 years in prison. Judge Galina Belik on June 9 found Shpakovsky guilty of being a leading member of a banned extremist religious group and sentenced him the same day. The 61-year-old Shpakovsky refused to accept any guilt, saying that he has the right to follow his religion and share his religious views with others. He came to the trial’s last hearing with a bag filled with personal items, signalling he was ready to be taken into custody.
Source: RFE/RL, 9 June 2020
