In the Poltava region, a Jehovah's Witnesses elder was convicted for refusing to report for military service

The Dikan District Court in Poltava Oblast handed down a sentence to an elder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation, finding him guilty of evading military conscription. Despite his religious beliefs and a request to perform alternative service, the court sentenced the man to three years of probation.

According to the “Poltavshchyna” the defendant, who has served as an elder of the local congregation since 2016, refused to be mobilized in the spring of 2025 after undergoing a military medical examination. In his statement to the Territorial Conscription Commission, the man cited Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine, emphasizing that his faith categorically prohibits the use of weapons.

During the trial, the defendant insisted on his willingness to serve the state in a non-military capacity; however, the court deemed these arguments insufficient. The judge, citing current Supreme Court precedent, emphasized that under martial law, the law does not provide for the possibility of replacing mobilization obligations with alternative civilian service, and that national security interests take precedence over personal religious beliefs in this context.

Although the defendant had an exemption from mobilization based on his place of employment, his failure to report to the military registration and enlistment office served as grounds for holding him liable under Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Taking into account his lack of prior convictions and positive character references, the court exempted the elder from serving his sentence in a penal colony and imposed a one-year probationary period.