Russia jails Jehovah's Witness adherent for six years over extremism

A Russian court on Friday jailed a Jehovah's Witness adherent for six years after finding him guilty of extremist activity, a spokesman for the U.S.-headquartered Christian denomination said in a statement.

A court in Penza, around 350 miles (563 km) southeast of Moscow, jailed Vladimir Alushkin for six years and handed suspended two-year prison sentences to five other adherents, the spokesman, Jarrod Lopes, said.

Jehovah's Witnesses have been under pressure for years in Russia, where the dominant Orthodox Church is championed by President Vladimir Putin. Orthodox scholars have cast them as a dangerous foreign sect that erodes state institutions and traditional values, allegations they reject.