Russian evangelical Christian jailed for refusing to fight in Ukraine
Married and with a 4-month-old son, Vyacheslav Reznichenko has been sentenced to two years and six months.
Vladivostok · 02 OCTOBER 2023 · 12:53 CET
A member of a free evangelical church near the border of China and North Korea, has been sentenced to two years and six months of jail for refusing to fight for Russia in Ukraine.
The information, shared by a Telegram account with news related to the International Union of Evangelical Churches, shows the Vyacheslav Reznichenko entering a detention centre. Another photo shared on the app shows the young man with his wife and their 4-month-old baby son.
According to the information, confirmed by news website from Siberia and Far East Sibreal, and first shared in English by CNE.news, Reznichenko was sentenced by the courts for refusing to join the Russian army in the war in Ukraine. He did so based on religious grounds.
Sources say Reznichenko appealed the sentence and “went through five courts” but could not avoid imprisonment.
News service Forum 18 reported in July of a similar conviction in the Vladivostok area. Andrey Kapatsyna, a Pentecostal Christian, refused to fight in Ukraine “in accordance with his religious beliefs, he could not take up arms and use them against other people”. He was sentenced to 2 years and 10 months imprisonment.
Published in: Evangelical Focus - europe - Russian evangelical Christian jailed for refusing to fight in Ukraine