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The U.S. State Department has called on Russia to release all jailed Jehovah's Witnesses in the country, saying "they pose no threat" and that Russian authorities should "respect their right to worship in peace."

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus issued the call on Twitter, saying Washington was "disturbed and dismayed" by a 6-year prison sentence given recently to Sergei Klimov, a Russian member of the religious group.