On January 8, 2025, the Mary Regional Court sentenced 21-year-old Brother Arslan Vepayev to two years of correctional labor for his conscientious objection to military service. Although Arslan was immediately released from pretrial detention, he must now pay 20 percent of his salary to the State for a period of 24 months.

When Arslan was called to perform military service in early 2024, he appeared at the enlistment office and respectfully explained his neutral position. He also expressed his willingness to perform alternative civilian service. Nevertheless, a short time later, the authorities opened a criminal case against him. In November 2024, Arslan was arrested and placed in pretrial detention. Then, in December 2024, the City Court of Bayramaly sentenced Arslan to two years of imprisonment for conscientiously refusing military service. Arslan immediately appealed that decision, resulting in the regional court’s ruling to change his sentence to a two-year term of correctional labor.

This is the first time in nearly four years that the Turkmen government has convicted one of Jehovah’s Witnesses for their neutral stand. In May 2021, the government enacted a general amnesty and released all of Jehovah’s Witnesses imprisoned for conscientious objection. Since then, many of our brothers in Turkmenistan have been able to conscientiously refuse military service without facing any negative consequences. Therefore, Arslan’s conviction comes as an unexpected reversal of the Turkmen government’s earlier position. In addition to Arslan’s case, the authorities notified more than a dozen other brothers that their conscientious objection cases had been referred to the prosecutor’s office.

We continue to pray for Arslan and all our faithful young brothers in Turkmenistan, confident that Jehovah “will not abandon his loyal ones.”—Psalm 37:28.