Gobozev Sergey

Name: Gobozev Sergey Borisovich
Date of Birth: October 10, 1957
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 1 day in a temporary detention facility, 116 day Under house arrest, 143 day in prison
Current restrictions: detention center
Sentence: Imprisonment for a period of 6 years with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to leadership and participation in the work of religious organizations for a period of 5 years, with restriction of liberty for a period of 1 year, with serving in a general regime penal colony
Term of imprisonment: until October 2029
Currently held in: Detention Center No.1 for Udmurtian Republic
Address for correspondence: Gobozev Sergey Borisovich, born 1957, Detention Center No.1 for Udmurtian Republic, Ul. Bazisnaya, 13, Izhevsk, Udmurtian Republic, 426034

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

Former lawyer, a 63-year-old pensioner from Votkinsk Sergey Góbozev did not even suspect that he would ever face criminal prosecution for love of God and the Bible. The believer had not yet had time to recover from the severe COVID-19 disease, when he was arrested and a criminal case was opened against him.

Sergey was born in October 1957 in Vorkuta. Parents worked hard to raise three sons. Sergey’s father worked as a miner, his mother as a teacher of chemistry. The family moved more than once: from Vorkuta to Karaganda (Kazakhstan), and from there to Novomichurinsk (Ryazan region). One of the brothers is no longer alive, as well as their parents.

In his youth, Sergey was fond of sports: alpine skiing and athletics. After serving in the army, he moved to Neryungri (Sakha Republic), and then to Votkinsk (Udmurtia), where his parents already lived. Sergey graduated from the university, in recent years he worked as a lawyer. He is now retired.

Having got acquainted with the Bible, Sergey from the very first lines of this ancient book did not doubt that it was from God. Everything that he learned from it aroused trust and respect. This was exactly what he lacked for all the years he lived. Biblical prophecies, both those that came true in the past and prophecies for the future, impressed Sergey a lot. These and other Bible truths motivated him to embark on the Christian path.

In 2004, Sergey married Olga, who shares her husband's religious views. She teaches chemistry at an online school. Sergey, as before, is very fond of sports - he tries to work out with a barbell, kettlebells and dumbbells every day. After the illness, the believer does not give up: several times a day he does special breathing exercises and has already resumed home workouts.

The criminal prosecution caused Sergey a lot of problems, including health troubles. Shortly before his arrest, he spent 10 days in intensive care due to complications caused by the coronavirus. Sergey has been suffering from diabetes since 2009. Due to house arrest, the believer cannot work. The bank card on which the pension was received was seized during a search. In addition, he was banned from communicating with family and friends on the phone, as well as using the Internet and electronic devices.

Case History

Sergey Gobozev, a pensioner and veteran of labor, and Mikhail Potapov, a repair technician, both from Votkinsk, were detained in January 2021. The Investigative Committee charged them with organizing the activity of an extremist organization only because the men gathered with friends to discuss the Bible. As a result, Potapov spent 4 months in pretrial detention and Gobozev – under house arrest. Later both were banned from certain actions. In September 2021, the case went to court. During the hearings, it became known that prosecution witnesses had been pressured, and their testimonies falsified. In March 2024, the prosecutor requested 6.5 years imprisonment for the believers, but the court imposed fines on both: 450,000 rubles for Gobozev and 400,000 for Potapov. The court of appeal upheld the ruling, but the court of cassation returned the case to the appeal stage which resulted in a tougher sentence – 6 years in a penal colony.
Timeline
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