Balanced News: Russian Jehovah’s Witnesses seek refugee status so they won’t have to fight in Ukraine

A Russian couple facing deportation from New Zealand have sought refugee status so that the husband would not be sent to war in Ukraine, which goes against their religion. The couple, aged in their 40s and 50s, sought refugee status before the Immigration and Protection Tribunal in October 2022, according to a recently released judgment. They feared deportation to Russia would see them persecuted due to their Jehovah’s Witness faith, which the Russian Federation considered an extremist organisation.