Popov Mikhail

Name: Popov Mikhail Yuryevich
Date of Birth: May 23, 1962
Current status: who has served the main sentence
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 8 day in a pre-trial detention
Sentence: penalty in the form of a fine in the amount of 250,000 rubles

Biography

Mikhail Popov was arrested for his faith on July 30, 2018, together with his wife Yelena in Vilyuchinsk (Kamchatka region), spent several days in a pre-trial detention center. What is known about him?

Mikhail was born in 1962 in Leningrad, but as a child he lived for many years in Kamchatka in connection with his father's work. Entrepreneur, owned a number of small firms. Since childhood he is fond of music, graduated from a music school, created his own musical group. He has been married since 1985 and has a son and a daughter.

Mikhail first learned about the teachings of the Bible in the early 1990s, and they touched his heart vividly. The Bible gave reasonable answers to exciting questions, gave life meaning. Mikhail and Elena decided to build their family life on biblical principles, and today it is a close-knit, close-knit family.

Although not all of Mikhail's relatives share his Christian beliefs, they were all very sensitive to the events of the summer of 2018, when Mikhail and Yelena were thrown behind bars on false accusations. Both of them have nothing to do with extremism and violence.

After 22 months, the criminal prosecution lasted, the believers were found guilty of organizing the activities of an extremist organization and sentenced to a large fine. The verdict came into force on May 19, 2020, when the Kamchatka Regional Court issued an appeal ruling on their complaint.

Case History

In July 2018, mass searches took place in Kamchatka. Armed FSB officers arrested Mikhail and Yelena Popov from Vilyuchinsk. The couple spent 11 and 5 days in the temporary detention facility, respectively. The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against the Popovs under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. According to the prosecution, the couple organized the activities of an extremist organization and involved local residents in it. This is how the investigation interpreted participation in worship services and discussion of the Bible with several people who feigned interest in it. The case went to court in September 2019. At one of the hearings, Judge Aleksandr Ishchenko [called] (/en/news/2019/12/1464.html) “extremist statements” a reference to the fact that in World War II Catholics and Protestants from some European countries shot at their fellow believers from other countries. In February 2020, the court softened the article of the charges and imposed fines on the believers: Mikhail 350 thousand rubles, and Yelena 300 thousand rubles. The appeal reduced the amount to 250 thousand rubles each.
Timeline
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