Jehovah’s Witnesses Imprisoned for Their Faith—By Location

Jehovah’s Witnesses imprisoned for their faith as of December 2024

WHERE	IMPRISONED	REASON
Crimea	12	Religious activity
Eritrea	68	Religious activity Undisclosed reasons
Russia	130	Religious activity
Singapore	8	Conscientious objection
Other Lands	Over 10	Religious activity
Total	Over 228

“The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion” is a fundamental human right, according to Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.a In some lands, however, Jehovah’s Witnesses are denied this basic right and are unjustly jailed and even suffer cruel mistreatment. Most of those imprisoned were arrested merely for practicing their faith. Others are imprisoned for their conscientious objection to military service.

a See also the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18, and the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 9.