Since the beginning of the war, 16 Jehovah's Witnesses have received prison sentences for refusing to go to the front
More than 3,000 members of the organization have been detained since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, with 2,231 of them forcibly sent to military units.
Jehovah's Witnesses in Ukraine are massively refusing military mobilization, citing pacifist religious beliefs. This is reported by The Spectator.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022, about 3,000 members of the organization have been detained by Ukrainian authorities. According to Jarrod Lopes, a representative of the Jehovah's Witnesses world headquarters, 2,231 of them were forcibly sent to military units, and 16 people were sentenced to imprisonment for refusing military service based on conscientious objection.
The first prisoner was Vitaliy Krishchenko, arrested in January 2025. He was later released, but the criminal record remained. "Since I obey the law, I will appear at the military court summons, but the whole story will start again," he told the publication.
Before the introduction of martial law in 2022, Ukrainian legislation allowed alternative civilian service, but after its introduction, refusal to be drafted became a criminal offense. The organization has over 125,000 members in Ukraine.
Some of them participate in humanitarian missions – evacuating civilians from combat zones and delivering essential supplies. The article mentions Philip Sobotyak, who evacuated civilians from near Mariupol. He was captured by Russian GRU forces and tortured for 10 days – beaten and subjected to electric shocks. "We are ready to die, but not to kill," he said.
Spouses Vitaliy and Natalya Petrov conducted humanitarian raids through the "gray zone." Despite this, Vitaliy has been charged with failure to appear for summons and is now wanted. "I was ready to give my life, but not to take someone else's," he stated.
As SPJ reported, the European Court of Human Rights ordered Ukraine to pay compensation to Jehovah's Witnesses.
