Updated: May 17, 2024
Name: Barmakin Dmitriy Viktorovich
Date of Birth: May 30, 1974
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 548 day in a pre-trial detention, 101 day in prison
Current restrictions: detention center
Sentence: punishment in the form of 8 years of imprisonment with serving in a penal colony of general regime, with restriction of liberty for a period of 1 year
Currently held in: Detention Center No. 1 in Khabarovsk Territory
Address for correspondence: Barmakin Dmitriy Viktorovich, born 1974, SIZO No. 1 in Khabarovsk Territory, ul. Znamenshchikova, 6, Khabarovsk, Khabarovsk Territory, Russia, 680038

Letters of support can be sent by regular mail or through the «zonatelecom».

Note: discussing topics related to criminal prosecution is not allowed in letters; languages other than Russian will not pass.

Biography

Dmitry Barmakin was born in 1974 on the Black Sea coast, in Alushta (Crimea). At the age of 10, he lost his mother, and his father raised his son on his own. Since childhood, he was inquisitive, swam well and loved to read. In the eighth grade, I bought a Bible with the money I earned during the holidays. The practicality of the biblical advice convinced Dmitriy that this ancient book could be trusted.

After graduating from a vocational school, Dmitry received a diploma as a cook. Later he graduated from programming courses in Kaliningrad and worked as a programmer and CNC operator. The company has established itself as a responsible and honest employee, a person who is always ready to help.

Dmitry met his wife Elena in Bakhchisarai in 2003. And three years after they met, they got married. Together they took care of Dmitry's sick father for several years, until his death. In 2017, the family moved to Vladivostok to help Yelena's parents and grandmother. Elena has a creative job, she is a photographer. Dmitry's passion for photography was also passed on. In addition, he successfully creates computer programs. The couple love to travel, together they traveled around the Crimea, the Far East, shooting the sea, nature, animals. They have many loyal friends and good acquaintances, which they have acquired over the years of married life.

Since July 28, 2018, Dmitriy and Elena have been separated – Dmitriy was arrested on charges of professing his faith, which is essentially guaranteed by the Constitution to every person in Russia. The wife is painfully experiencing parting with her beloved husband. And for Elena's relatives, Dmitry's arrest is a real tragedy, because the spouses provided physical assistance to many of them, including their 93-year-old grandmother. They cannot understand why an honest and respectable person ended up behind bars.

Case History

Dmitriy Barmakin came to Vladivostok from Crimea to take care of his sick mother-in-law and her elderly mother. In July 2018, law enforcement officers in masks and with weapons broke into their house with a search. Dmitriy was arrested, and he spent 1.5 years in the pre-trial detention center. The judge returned the criminal case to the prosecutor due to the ambiguity of the charges, stating in the ruling that freedom of religion is the constitutional right of Barmakin like any citizen of the Russian Federation. In April 2021, the case went to court again, and 7 months later, Judge Stanislav Salnikov fully acquitted the believer. In April 2022, the regional court overturned this verdict and sent the case for a new trial. Barmakin was sentenced to 8 years in prison. In August 2023, an appeal overturned this verdict as well, released the man and sent the case for a third trial to the court of first instance. This decision was appealed by the prosecutor, and the cassation sent the case to a different composition of the court of appeal, which in February 2024 approved the conviction—8 years in a penal colony.