Gorbunov Anatoliy

Name: Gorbunov Anatoliy Vasiliyevich
Date of Birth: August 15, 1957
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 139 day in a pre-trial detention, 1054 day in prison
Sentence: punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 6 years with deprivation of the right to engage in organizational activities in public or religious associations, public or religious organizations for a term of 2 years, with restriction of liberty for a term of 1 year; with the serving of a sentence of deprivation of liberty in a penal colony of general regime
Term of imprisonment: until November 2027
Currently held in: Correctional Colony № 31, Krasnoyarsk Territory
Address for correspondence: Gorbunov Anatoliy Vasiliyevich, born 1957, Correctional Colony № 31, Krasnoyarsk Territory, Ul. Krazovskaya, 10, Krasnoyarsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory, 660111

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 Soviet times, Anatoliy Gorbunov's father and grandfather were declared "enemies of the people" and exiled to Siberia. In 1993, they were rehabilitated, and in 2022, the court recognized Anatoliy himself as an extremist and sentenced him to 6 years in prison only because of his faith in Jehovah God.

Anatoliy was born in August 1957 in the village of Dikanka (Ukraine). He has a younger brother. Parents worked hard to feed the family: father in a coal mine, and mother in a cultural center.

As a child, Anatoliy was fond of swimming, skiing and hockey, loved physics and mathematics. Graduated from the Krasnoyarsk Higher Command School of Air Defense Radio Electronics. He lived and worked in such places as Inta (Komi), the village of Chernaya (Nenets Autonomous Okrug), as well as in Estonia and Kazakhstan.

In 1978 Anatoliy married Galina. The marriage produced two children. From 1978 to 1983 he served in the army. After his dismissal, he moved to Krasnoyarsk with his family. Later he worked as an electrician, welder, power engineer. Now retired.

Spouses have always been interested in the question of whether God exists from the point of view of science. Having found the answer to it, in 1996 Anatoliy and Galina decided to become Christians.

A criminal case and a harsh sentence completely changed the life of the spouses. Relatives consider the persecution of Anatoliy unfair and illegal.

Case History

About 2 years after the recordings of worship services of peaceful believers from Krasnoyarsk became available to the investigation, investigator Konstantin Zhuikov opened a criminal case. As a result, Anatoliy Gorbunov was accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization. His house was searched twice. In January 2021, Gorbunov’s case went to court. For more than 10 sessions, Judge Maria Kunik listened to recordings of the defendant’s conversations about the Bible with an interested person, finding no calls to incite hatred or other crimes in the words of the believer. Despite the fact that the prosecution was never able to provide evidence of the believer’s guilt, in February 2022 the court found Anatoly Gorbunov guilty and sentenced him to 6 years in prison. In June, the appeal upheld this decision. In October 2022, the believer was taken to Penal Colony No. 31 in Krasnoyarsk to serve his sentence.
Timeline
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