Three Christians Sentenced to Jail for Conscientious Objection to Military Service
In the past months, three Protestant Christians have been sentenced to jail for conscientious objections to military service on religious grounds in Ukraine. One of them, Dmytro Zelensky, is imprisoned after his acquittal was reversed by the Ternopil Appeal Court in August 2023. He has been sentenced to three years in prison and is currently preparing his appeal to the High Court.
Vitaly Alekseyenko, another protestant Christian, has also ben sentenced to three years in prison on December 13, 2023, but the sentence has been suspened on probation for one year. Mykhailo Yavorsky has been sentenced to one year in prison on April 6, 2023 for objecting to milatry serive on religious grounds. On May 2, 2024, the Supreme Court of Ukraine confirmed the verdict against conscientious objector Mykhailo Yavorsky.
Update, June 13:
In its 13 June 2024 ruling the Supreme Court confirmed that Dmytro Bronislavovich Zelinsky will have go on serving a three-year jail for refusing call-up for military service during mobilisation under Criminal Code Article 336.
Source: APD press; Forum 18, hrwf.eu
Image: (c) Iryna Zhukova (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)