Jehovah's Witnesses pastor in Lviv region sentenced to prison term for refusing to serve as a cook at the local TCC

The Stryi City District Court of Lviv Region sentenced Jehovah’s Witnesses pastor Hennadiy B. from Melitopol to five years’ imprisonment. The defendant was found guilty of unauthorized abandonment of a military unit. Gennady B. refused military service, citing his religious beliefs, because he is a clergyman of Jehovah’s Witnesses and was supposed to serve as a cook in the territorial manning center (TMC). This is reported by the publication Zaxid.net

According to the case materials, Gennady B. was mobilized for military service in February 2025. A week after mobilization, he left the unit unauthorized and was out of the place of service for four months, until June 2025.

During the trial, the accused did not admit his guilt. He said that for about 10 years he worked at the Leoni plant, from where he was repeatedly taken to the district TCC together with other employees. There he applied for alternative service. According to the results of the military medical commission (VMC), Gennady B. was recognized fit for military service and sent to a military unit in Chernihiv region, and then transferred to the district TCC (RTCC), where he was to work as a cook in the canteen.

Gennady B. explained that he refused to take the military oath and wear a military uniform. He made his escape during a trip to the bank with one of the TCC officials. He also stated in court that for him the position of a cook in the RTCC meant the status of a serviceman and the need to follow orders, which, according to him, contradicted his religious beliefs. In support of his words, the defendant provided a certificate from the Jehovah’s Witnesses center certifying his status as a clergyman since 2010.

Judge Vasily Borakovsky found Gennady B. guilty of unauthorized abandonment of a military unit and sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment. The court sentence can be appealed in the manner prescribed by law.

Recall, in Lviv region 42-year-old local resident was sentenced to three years in prison for evasion of conscription during mobilization. The man explained his failure to appear on the summons by religious beliefs, but the court did not accept these arguments, as it was not about fixed-term service, which can be replaced by alternative service, but about mobilization draft.