Updated: March 28, 2024
Name: Kogay Nailya Sunatovna
Date of Birth: October 5, 1951
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Current restrictions: Suspended sentence
Sentence: punishment in the form of 2 years of imprisonment, with restriction of liberty for a term of 9 months, the main punishment in the form of imprisonment is considered conditional with a probationary period of 4 years

Biography

Nailya Kogai is one of the elderly women from Vladivostok who were accused of extremism only because of their religion. During the trial, she buried her husband. The believer said, "It's like losing one leg. He was very worried about me. My persecution took a toll on his heart. He died of cardiac arrest. My husband was very worried about me and supported me."

Nailya was born in 1951 in Tashkent (Uzbekistan). The parents are no longer alive. Nailya has an elder brother. The younger one died in 1992. As a child, Nailya was fond of athletics.

After school, Nailya graduated from the Tashkent Institute of Railway Engineers, where she received the specialty "civil engineer". She worked as a design engineer in design organizations, as well as deputy director of the institute. She is currently retired.

In 1975, Nailya married a work colleague, Robert Kogay. The couple raised two children. In 2003 they moved to Vladivostok. Robert worked as a team leader in a design institute, but since 1989 he has been on disability and needs constant care.

The logic of the Bible and the understanding that God is loving and caring convinced Nailya that the Bible is trustworthy. Therefore, in the second half of the 1990s, she decided to take the Christian path.

Nailya experienced severe stress due to criminal prosecution. The incident affected her physical health and financial situation. All accounts, including savings left after the sale of an apartment in Tashkent, which Nailya used to pay for rented housing, were blocked. Against this background, chronic diseases worsened.

Son Vadim worries about his mother. During interrogation, he said in bewilderment: "My mother is a reasonable and competent person and knows what she is doing. She's not an extremist!"

Case History

In April 2018, the Federal Security Service of Russia for the Primorye Territory opened a criminal case against Jehovah’s Witnesses from Vladivostok. Believers were searched. Valentyn Osadchuk spent 9 months in pre-trial detention and 77 days under house arrest. In April 2019, he was accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization, and 6 elderly women — Lyubov Galaktionova, Nailya Kogai, Nina Purga, Nadezhda Anoykina, Raisa Usanova and Yelena Zayshchuk — were accused of participating in it. Soon the case was received by the Leninsky District Court, but a month later the judge returned it to the prosecutor. This decision was upheld twice by the appellate court. Since January 2021, the case has been re-examined in the same court by Maksim Anufriev. With regard to Zayshchuk, the case was suspended due to her advanced age and state of health. In May 2022, the prosecutor requested a sentence of 6.5 years in prison for Valentin Osadchuk, and a 5-year suspended sentence for women. In June, the court sentenced the believers to suspended sentences ranging from 2 to 6 years. In September 2022, the appeal upheld the verdict.