The Rakhiv District Court sentenced Mykyta Parshin, a native of Melitopol and an elder of the religious association Jehovah's Witnesses in Ukraine, to three years in prison for evading military service on religious grounds, which the court found illegal under martial law.
According to the verdict of May 27, Parshin moved from temporarily occupied Melitopol to Transcarpathia after the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation. In November 2024, he passed a military medical examination, was found fit for service, and received a military summons. However, he did not report to the army, explaining this by his religious beliefs.
At the trial, the man stated that he has been a member of Jehovah's Witnesses since 2008, and has been officially an elder since 2022. He claimed that his religion forbids him from taking up arms and participating in military operations. Parshin also recalled that in 2015 he had already completed alternative (non-military) service.
However, the court concluded that under martial law, the law does not provide for the replacement of mobilization with alternative service. The court's decision states that religious beliefs cannot be a reason for evading mobilization, which is the duty of every citizen.
"References to religious beliefs cannot be assessed as excluding the possibility of performing military duty," Judge Viktor Yemchuk noted in the verdict.
Mykyta Parshin was found guilty under Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine ("Evasion of conscription during mobilization") and sentenced to three years in prison. The defense has the right to appeal the verdict in the court of appeal.
