Name: Kuznetsov Sergey Aleksandrovich
Date of Birth: July 24, 1991
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 5 months of imprisonment with restriction of liberty for a term of 6 months, punishment in the form of imprisonment shall be considered conditional with a probationary period of 2 years

Biography

A criminal case was opened against Sergey Kuznetsov after his nephew, Yegor Baranov. The peaceful Christian was included in the list of extremists of Rosfinmonitoring, and in December 2022, the court sentenced him to 2.5 years suspended sentence just because of his faith.

Sergey was born in 1991 in the small village of Alonka (Khabarovsk Territory). He has two older sisters. Sergey's mother worked as a cook in a village kindergarten, and his father worked as a railway fitter. Sergey was a versatile child: he attended a local history club, a knitting and crocheting club, went skiing, practiced the Chinese martial art of kung fu, and also went to volleyball and basketball clubs.

After school, Sergey trained as an electric locomotive driver assistant at the Khabarovsk College. A year later, he returned to his native village of Alonka, and the next year he continued his studies at the Transbaikal College, located in Chernyshevsk (Chita Region). Having received a qualification, Sergey, together with his relatives, moved to the city of Vyazemsky, where he still lives.

While training in Khabarovsk, Sergey began to study the Bible. He was impressed by the accuracy of the prophecies from the Holy Scriptures, which are being fulfilled in our time. He became convinced of the existence of the Creator, and in 2014 he firmly decided to become a Christian.

In 2016, Sergey started his alternative civilian service. His convictions which do not allow him to take up arms motivated him to do so. For almost two years he worked in a psychiatric hospital.

Sergey worked as a cook, waiter, sales assistant, carpenter's assistant and janitor. Also in his life there is a place for his favorite activities—playing the ukulele and electric guitar. In addition, he is fond of photography and keeps in shape with workouts on the pull-up bar and parallel bars.

Sergey lost his job because of the criminal prosecution. His relatives do not understand how in our time peaceful Christians can be prosecuted, accusing them of extremism.

Case History

In 2016, Sergey Kuznetsov, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses from the city of Vyazemsky, defended his right to alternative civilian service, proving that violence and everything connected with it is unacceptable for him. Four years later, he was subjected to criminal prosecution for his peaceful religious beliefs: law enforcement officers searched his home twice, and in March 2021, an FSB investigator initiated a criminal case against the believer. He regarded participation in peaceful worship as participation in the activity of an extremist organization. Consideration of the case in court began in November 2021. Witnesses for the prosecution denied that any extremist remarks were made at the religious meetings. One of them stated that he did not know the defendant and the other, that the law enforcement officers put pressure on him and distorted his testimony. In December 2022, the court gave Sergey Kuznetsov a 2-year and 5-month suspended sentence. The court of appeal upheld this verdict.
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