Russian court fines Jehovah's Witness over alleged extremism
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia say one of their number has been fined 350,000 rubles ($5,350) on an extremism charge related to his membership of the religious group.
Sergei Skrynnikov was found guilty by a court in the city of Oryol of participating in the activity of an extremist organization, the Jehovah's Witnesses say.
Russia officially banned the Jehovah's Witnesses in 2017 and declared the group an extremist organization.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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 the Jehovah's Witnesses claimed about 170,000 adherents in Russia.