Egozaryan Igor

Name: Egozaryan Igor Artemovich
Date of Birth: January 17, 1965
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, 398 day in a pre-trial detention, 1072 day in prison
Sentence: punishment in the form of 6 years of imprisonment with serving the 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 religious organizations for a period of 4 years; with restriction of liberty for a period of 1 year
Term of imprisonment: until February 2026
Currently held in: Correctional Colony No. 5 of the Udmurtian Republic
Address for correspondence: Egozaryan Igor Artemovich, born 1965, Correctional Colony No. 5 of the Udmurtian Republic, Ul. Raskolnikova, 5A, Sarapul, Udmurtian Republic, 427965

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

Parcels and parcels should not be sent because of the limit on their number per year.

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

Biography

In September 2021, a court in Volgograd sentenced four civilians to real prison terms for believing in Jehovah God. One of them is Igor Egozaryan.

Igor was born in 1965 in Volgograd in a simple working-class family. He has a younger sister. As a child, he was fond of music, independently mastered the guitar and performed in an amateur music group at school evenings. After graduating from school, he worked as a shoemaker, builder and electrician.

In the early 1990s, thanks to his mother, Igor first became acquainted with the teachings of the Bible. He was struck by its logic and simplicity.

Igor's relatives are outraged by the unfair sentence passed on him only because of his religious views. Igor's mother, who is already over 80, is especially worried. When the believer was thrown behind bars, the elderly woman lost the much-needed support of her son.

Case History

In the spring of 2019, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against the Volgograd believers. Sergey Melnik, Igor Egozaryan, Valery Rogozin and Denis Peresunko were accused of organizing an extremist organization, and the latter two were also accused of financing it. They spent 5 to 7 months in the pre-trial detention center. The lawyers drew the attention of Judge Irina Struk to numerous violations by the investigation. Some witnesses claimed that their testimony had been falsified. Secret witnesses were interrogated incognito, fearing for their lives and health. In September 2021, the court sentenced 4 believers to prison terms ranging from 6 years to 6 years and 5 months. In March 2022, the appellate court upheld the verdict.
Timeline
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