13 August 2026

UZBEKISTAN: Prison term awaits arrested Shia for online religious posts?

In late July, 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.