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.

8 June 2026

RUSSIA: January 2025 to April 2026 prosecutions for not showing official full name: list

Forum 18 found 52 Administrative Code Article 5.26, Part 3 prosecutions in 2025 and the first four months of 2026 for not showing registered religious organisations' official full names on literature, online, and on buildings. Of these, 34 ended with fines, 6 ended with warnings, 4 ended with acquittals, and 7 in the case being sent back or closed. The outcome of 1 is unknown. Courts ordered religious literature destroyed in 3 cases and confiscated in a further 14 cases.

5 June 2026

RUSSIA: Literature confiscation, destruction, fines for lack of full official name

Administrative cases against religious organisations under Administrative Code Article 5.26, Part 3 for failing to give their official full names on literature, online, and on their buildings increasingly target literature and online material. Prosecutions for failing to put up signs on buildings are declining. Following Supreme Court guidance, "law enforcement officers began to look for unmarked literature. It's easier. You can always find it. And a wave of cases [based on] unlabelled literature began", a Moscow-based lawyer notes. Courts fine communities and order literature confiscated or – on occasion – destroyed.

29 May 2026

KYRGYZSTAN: Secret police's latest target: Baptists

The NSC secret police has – with other state agencies – long obstructed the exercise of freedom of religion or belief, especially by communities it does not like. It has targeted Ahmadi Muslims, Falun Gong practitioners, Jehovah's Witnesses, and True and Free Reform Adventists, and now Council of Churches Baptists. Two NSC officers led a 19 April raid on their Bishkek church's Sunday worship for a second time. Major Aleksey Akulich, who led both raids, did not answer questions as to why, and whether the NSC initiated the raids and subsequent fines.