Komarov Vitaliy

Updated: May 17, 2024
Name: Komarov Vitaliy Viktorovich
Date of Birth: February 23, 1976
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 3 day in a temporary detention facility, 376 day in a pre-trial detention, 896 day Under house arrest, 37 day in prison
Current restrictions: detention center
Sentence: punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 6 years 3 months with serving a sentence in a correctional colony of general regime, with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to leadership and participation in the work of public organizations for a period of 3 years, with restriction of liberty for a period of 1 year
Currently held in: Detention Center No. 4 in Moscow
Address for correspondence: Komarov Vitaliy Viktorovich, born 1976, SIZO No. 4 «Medved» in Moscow, ul. Vilyuiskaya, 4, Moscow, Russia, 127081

Letters of support can be sent by regular mail or through the «FSIN-letter system». To pay for service with the card of a foreign bank use Prisonmail.

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

Biography

Vitaliy Komarov, a native Muscovite and father of two minor children, was one of those whom the security forces broke into in November 2020. This was the beginning of the criminal prosecution of the believer, as a result of which he was sentenced to 6 years in prison.

Vitaliy was born in 1976 in Moscow. He has a younger brother. Their mother, a former nurse, is now retired, and their father died in 2006. As a child, Vitaliy collected stamps, and was engaged in athletics at the Olympic Center named after the Znamenskiy brothers. After school, he graduated from the Sergo Ordzhonikidze State University of Management.

From 1998 to 2006, Vitaliy Komarov headed his own company. Then he worked for 5 years as a manager for the development of tourism and recreation in the regions of Russia. Since 2011, he worked as the head of the department of the Moscow branch of the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network. Vitaliy has several state awards, including the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree. Before the criminal prosecution, Vitaliy was fond of beekeeping.

In 1999, Vitaliy married Yelena, an accountant by education. The couple have two sons. Relatives and friends are sure that the persecution of Vitaliy is a huge mistake. Addressing the court with his last plea, the believer said: "My sincere desire, as well as that of my fellow believers, is to lead a quiet, peaceful life and to worship Jehovah God as he desires."

Case History

In November 2020, a large special operation took place in Moscow—22 searches in the homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Vardan Zakaryan was hospitalized due to injuries inflicted by the law enforcement officers. He, Vitaliy Komarov, Yuriy Chernyshev, Ivan Сhaikovskiy and Sergey Shatalov were placed in the temporary detention facility at 38 Petrovka Street. Four of the believers were accused of organizing the activity of an extremist organization, and Zakaryan was accused of involving others in it. It is noteworthy that in 2010, Сhaikovskiy obtained compensation through the ECHR for the violation of his rights due to the illegal liquidation of the Moscow community of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In the winter of 2022, the case went to court. The charges were based on the testimony of the FSB agent “Makarov”, who feigned interest in the Bible. In March 2023, the court sentenced Сhaikovskiy, Komarov, Chernyshev and Shatalov to 6 years and 3 months in a penal colony; Zakaryan was sentenced to 4 years and 3 months in a penal colony. The court of appeal upheld this decision in April 2024.
Timeline