A Jehovah’s Witness objector to military service fined for evasion of conscription
Sova Center (21.01.2022) – https://bit.ly/3IHi6k8 – On January 17, 2022, the Nevelsk City Court of the Sakhalin Region found Jehovah’s Witness Yevgeny Kulakov guilty under Part 1 of Art. 328 of the Criminal Code (evasion of conscription) and fined him 120,000 rubles.
The believer said that he was denied the right to alternative civil service. The court, according to him, provided false information that he, as a student, participated in military shootings, which means that he misled the state about his religious beliefs. At the same time, the organizer of the shootings denied this information, saying that no shootings were carried out on the day Kulakov was supposed to have taken part in them.
The prosecutor requested a punishment of 100,000 rubles fine, but the judge imposed a larger fine.
Evgeny’s parents are accused under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization and participation in the activities of an extremist organization).
Picture: Old apartment block in Nevelsk on Sakhalin Island (Credit: Alamy)