The right to believe, to worship and witness
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13 August 2026
UZBEKISTAN: Prison term awaits arrested Shia for online religious posts?
In late June, amid a crackdown on Shia Muslims in Samarkand, Police arrested the 22-year-old owner of a Shia-related Telegram channel Sunnatillo Akparov. They accuse him of posting marthiyas (Shia musical lamentations) that "encouraged the activity and teachings of various [unspecified] ideological movements". If convicted of online distribution of "materials containing a threat to public security and public order", he faces 5 to 8 years' imprisonment. Investigator Shokhrukh Asliddinov refused to discuss the case he brought. Police raided at least ten Shia homes in Samarkand since May without official warrants.
3 August 2026
ARMENIA: Trial of Catholicos, six bishops "violates" Church's "right of autonomy"
The criminal trial of seven senior bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church, including its leader Catholicos Karekin, is due to begin at Armavir Region First Instance Court on the afternoon of 7 August. They face up to two years' imprisonment for "failing to execute a judicial act or obstructing its execution" for refusing to reinstate a dismissed bishop in defiance of a court order. Ara Avakyan of the Investigative Committee, who led the investigation, refused to talk. The case "violates the right of autonomy of religious institutions", says Isabella Sargsyan.
28 July 2026
RUSSIA: Court challenges to denials of alternative service often fail
Three Pentecostal conscientious objectors in Udmurtiya failed to overturn Conscription Commissions' rejections of their applications for alternative civilian service. The court agreed with the Military Commissariat in each case that they had "failed to substantiate" their conscientious views. "No matter how we litigated, no matter what we did, we were told: 'There is no alternative service now, there is martial law in the country'," one of them noted. Two were sent to military units, while the third obtained a medical exemption. Such court challenges are rarely successful.
27 July 2026
RUSSIA: "Nationwide rise in arbitrary denials of alternative service"
Although the number of young men doing alternative civilian service rather than military service appears to be rising, so too is the number of rejected applications. Rejections often come despite applicants demonstrating to the military authorities that they hold beliefs which preclude participation in military service. "Conscription Commissions rarely provide justifications for their decisions," Call to Conscience laments. Administrative lawsuits challenging refusals often fail. Jehovah's Witnesses say that in 2025, "refusals to grant alternative civilian service were significantly more frequent than positive decisions".
24 July 2026
OCCUPIED UKRAINE: "Neither Interior Ministry nor court knows reasons for my deportation"
After 66 years' residence in Krasnodon (now in Russian-occupied Luhansk Region), Council of Churches Baptist Pastor Vladimir Rytikov faces deportation from Russian-occupied Ukraine and Russia if his last-ditch appeal fails. The Russian FSB brands him a "threat to security", apparently for leading his church. On 17 July, Russian-controlled Krasnodon Town Court rejected his suit to overturn the deportation order. "Over the past seven years I have been taken to court many times: for missionary activity and holding services without giving notification of the start of a religious group's activity," he says.
16 July 2026
BELARUS: Polish priests "increasingly not allowed to continue their work"
Since January, the regime's chief religious affairs official Aleksandr Rumak has refused bishops' requests for at least a dozen Polish Catholic priests to be allowed to continue their religious service in the country. Most had served for several decades, one - Fr Marian Szerszeń - for 36 years. Archbishop Iosif Stanevsky of Minsk-Mogilev complains that such priests "are increasingly not allowed to continue their work". Rumak's Deputy Sergei Gerasimenya refused to explain why Rumak had refused permission for the Polish priests to continue serving. "We give no comments."
10 July 2026
UKRAINE: Conscientious objectors convicted, jailed, held in military units: list
With no alternative civilian service available in wartime, prosecutors have launched more than 1,000 criminal cases against conscientious objectors, with about 500 cases already sent to court. In cases known to Forum 18 (listed here), 30 conscientious objectors are in jail serving sentences, with a further 7 awaiting appeals. Courts handed down 11 probation or restricted freedom sentences. Courts are hearing at least 15 new cases, while 21 conscientious objectors are known to be in pre-trial detention. Recruitment Offices have forcibly taken hundreds of conscientious objectors to military bases, where they often face torture.
3 July 2026
UKRAINE: Will delayed promised Law introduce alternative civilian service in wartime?
The Cabinet of Ministers' Roadmap for reforms, part of Ukraine's commitments under the EU accession process, set the end of June for adopting a law to introduce alternative civilian service in wartime. No draft Law has yet reached parliament. The Economy Ministry prepared a draft, but the Defence Ministry's "categorical position" – set out at a February Presidential Office meeting - is that alternative service must be within the army. Most conscientious objectors do not accept such service. "Officials are playing administrative football with the draft Law," says law professor Serhii Rabinovych.
25 June 2026
UKRAINE: Conscientious objector's violent death at military base "being covered up"?
Recruitment Office officials seized 50-year-old Council of Churches Baptist conscientious objector Dmytro Koval, rejected his call for alternative civilian service and sent him to the Skelya Assault Regiment. Personnel tortured him for refusing to eat and he died on 21 March. When officials returned Koval's body, his face was unrecognisable. His widow could recognise him "only by his moles, the shape of his ears, facial wrinkles, and other distinctive features," Baptists noted. She demanded that police investigate his death on charges of murder and torture. Investigator Serhiy Popika refused to give information.
18 June 2026
KYRGYZSTAN: Five Reform Adventists in 2-month pre-trial detention
Late on 17 June, a Bishkek court ordered five members of the now-banned True and Free Reform Seventh-day Adventist Church held in pre-trial detention for two months. The three men and two women face criminal charges of "Production and distribution of extremist materials". If convicted as a group, each faces 5 to 7 years' imprisonment. A Bishkek-based commentator warns that the case "could establish a concerning precedent". Police Investigator Adilet Asanbayev says more Church members will be investigated. "This is a real threat to at least 20 others," says one Church member.
16 June 2026
UKRAINE: Longest prison sentence yet for conscientious objector
Prosecutions of conscientious objectors refused an alternative civilian service are increasingly frequent. A court in Mykolaiv Region jailed 42-year-old Jehovah's Witness Volodymyr Klementiev for six years. "To date, this is the longest prison sentence imposed on one of our brothers since the war in Ukraine began," Jehovah's Witnesses noted. A court in Chernihiv Region jailed 34-year-old Seventh-day Adventist Andrii Skliar for five years, one month. A court in Ivano-Frankivsk Region is due to reach a verdict on 23 June on 43-year-old Hare Krishna devotee Taras Borteychuk.
12 June 2026
RUSSIA: "Without any investigation, they're already presuming us guilty", says pastor
Prosecutions for religious organisations that fail to give their full legal name on buildings, literature or online are often part of state pressure. In Bryansk, a judge fined League of Salvation Pentecostal church for this amid inspections and searches and launching of a criminal case. The FSB raided an associated Support Centre for homeless and disabled people in 2025, but administrative charges were dismissed and a criminal case has not reached court. Holy Trinity Protestant Church in Balashikha near Moscow faced inspections from numerous state agencies and another fine.
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