Russian court sentences two Jehovah’s Witnesses to four years imprisonment

BEREZVOSKY, Russia – The Berezovsky City Court today, Wednesday, On September 2, 2020, sentenced two members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Brothers Sergey Britvin and Vadim Levchuk to four years in imprisonment just because they are Jehovah’s Witnesses.

 The prosecution Russian requested the court to jail the brothers for six and a half years before the court settled for four years.  Britvin and Levchuk have vowed to appeal this sentence

Sergey Britvin was born in 1965 in the Kemerovo Region and for decades worked as a crane operator and truck driver but retired early for health limitations.

He got married to Natalya in 1992 and began studying the Bible in 1995 after learning about God’s promise of  resurrection. Several years later, Natalya decided to study the Bible. She was impressed by Sergey’s faith and how it motivated him to make many positive changes

Vadim Levchuk was also born in the region in 1972 . Raised in a nonreligious household, he worked as a miner for 14 years. In 1992, he began studying the Bible and in 1997, he got married Tatiana. He has two sons. The whole family respects the Bible. They also enjoy sports and a variety of outdoor activities

On July 22, 2018, Federal Security Service (FSB) agents raided eight homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses  in the city of Berezovsky and the two brothers, Britvin and Levchuk were detained and interrogated.

 Subsequently, the Central District Court of Kemerovo ordered both brothers to be held in pretrial detention. They remained in detention for nearly a year and a half. On December 25, 2019, the brothers were transferred to house arrest, where they remain.

Brothers Britvin and Levchuk are two of five brothers in the Kemerovo Region facing criminal charges for their faith.