Pankratov Stepan

Name: Pankratov Stepan Viktorovich
Date of Birth: December 29, 1995
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, 87 day in a pre-trial detention, 74 day Under house arrest
Current restrictions: detention center
Sentence: imprisonment for a term of 6 years with serving in a general regime penal colony, with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to leadership and participation in the work of public religious organizations for a term of 5 years, with restriction of freedom for a term of 1 year
Currently held in: Detention Center No.1 for Voronezh Region

Pankratov Stepan Viktorovich, born 1995, Detention Center No.1 for Voronezh Region, ul. Zhelyabova, 56, Voronezh, Voronezh Region, 394030

Letters of support can be sent by regular mail or through the F-pismo system. To pay for service with the card of a foreign bank use Prisonmail.

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

Biography

On July 13, 2020 law enforcement agencies of the Voronezh region conducted the largest raid against Jehovah's Witnesses. 24-year-old Stepan Pankratov was among the victims of the actions of operatives. After the search, he was sent to a detention center.

Stepan was born in 1995 in Voronezh in a large family. He has a sister and three brothers. Stepan is the youngest of the children. Since childhood, he has been actively involved in various sports such as volleyball, basketball and tennis.

From a young age, when he was in high school, Stepan started working as a part-time employee. He mastered the profession of plastering and tiling. Due to his peaceful convictions, Stepan was doing an alternative civil service. He worked as an attendant in a psychoneurological dispensary.He remained in warm friendship with all his colleagues. They still remember Stepan with warm words.

From early childhood, Stepan heard about God from his parents; the knowledge he received prompted him to make a serious independent decision in the future - to live as a Christian.

His future wife, Daria, Stepan met in his hometown. Daria is a design engineer by profession. The spouses love to play sports together, spend time with friends and relatives.

Criminal prosecution has completely changed the way this family lives. Daria has a difficult time, because Stepan was the main breadwinner in their family.

Family and friends are in complete perplexity because of religious persecution of a peaceful and honest man and consider the arrest of Stepan unfair.

Case History

On a single day, July 13, 2020, 110 searches were carried out in seven localities of the Voronezh Region — a record-breaking operation against Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia. Five believers reported being tortured by law enforcement officers. The Investigative Committee charged 10 men (then aged 24 to 56) with organizing extremist activity and sent them to pretrial detention, where most remained for nearly 5 months. The events in Voronezh sparked widespread public outcry: EU countries, as well as the United Kingdom and the United States, expressed regret and dismay over what had happened. The believers deny any guilt in extremism and emphasize that, as Christians, they respect the authorities and peacefully practice their faith in accordance with their constitutional rights. The trial began in December 2021. Nearly 4 years later, the believers were given various punishments — ranging from a 6-year suspended sentence to 7 years in a penal colony.
Timeline
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