Jehovah’s witness in Ukraine sentenced to 3 years in jail for draft dodging
Another Jehovah’s Witness imprisoned for refusing to serve in the military. Photo: Judicial Legal Newspaper
The Netishyn City Court in Khmelnytskyi Region sentenced a 38-year-old Jehovah’s Witness to three years in prison for refusing military mobilization on religious grounds, according to Judicial Legal Newspaper.
Case materials No. 679/1595/24 indicate that the man received two military summonses in August and September 2024. A military medical commission found him fit for service, but he refused to report in response to the summonses.
In court, the defendant explained his stance based on his religious beliefs: “I have deep and firm convictions that do not allow me to be in the military or support military actions. I completed alternative civilian service instead of compulsory military service due to these beliefs,” he told the court.
Nevertheless, the court did not take his religious motivations into account, found him guilty of committing a crime under Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (evasion of military conscription during a special period), and sentenced him to three years in prison.
This is far from the first case of Jehovah’s Witnesses being sentenced in Ukraine for refusing mobilization. In July 2024, a Protestant was sentenced to three years by the Akhtyrka Court. In August 2024, another Jehovah’s Witness was convicted in Kyiv Region. In March 2025, a member of a Jehovah’s Witness community in Lviv Region received the same sentence.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that DESS head Viktor Yelenskyi once again referred to Ukraine as a “stronghold of religious freedom.”
Read also
In Pasika, Transcarpathia, priest defects to OCU while community remains in UOC
In the village of Paseka in Transcarpathia, believers discussed the future fate of their church.
In Sumy, Presentation Church of UOC damaged by shelling
In the Sumy Eparchy, the walls and fence of the Presentation Church were damaged as a result of shelling, but divine services continue.
Ukraine loses almost 98% of cases at European Court of Human Rights
According to the ECtHR’s 2025 report, nearly all complaints against Ukraine end with findings of human rights violations.
UOC Chancellor on Kyiv Council decision targeting UOC: Obvious lawlessness
Metropolitan Anthony said the document adopted by the Kyiv Regional Council violates the Constitution, interferes with freedom of religion, and exceeds the body’s authority.
In Finland, Constantinopolitan Church hierarch convicted of fraud
A Finnish court found the former archbishop of the Constantinople Patriarchate guilty of manipulating state subsidies and committing financial violations.
His Beatitude: Pure faith is the only path to soul salvation
On the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, the Primate of the UOC urged the faithful not to tailor faith to human reasoning and passions, and reminded them of the significance of the Ecumenical Councils.