Safronova Anna

Name: Safronova Anna Arnoldovna
Date of Birth: July 22, 1965
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2), 282.3 (1)
Time spent in prison: 1 day in a temporary detention facility, 79 day in a pre-trial detention, 236 day Under house arrest, 1101 day in prison
Sentence: punishment in the form of 6 years of imprisonment with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to leadership and participation in the work of public organizations for a term of 3 years; with restriction of liberty for a period of 1 year; with serving a sentence of deprivation of liberty in a penal colony of general regime
Term of imprisonment: until August 2027
Currently held in: Correctional Colony No. 7 of the Stavropol Territory
Address for correspondence: Safronova Anna Arnoldovna, born 1965, Correctional Colony No. 7 of the Stavropol Territory, ul. Pochtovaya, 78, Stavropol Territory, Zelenokumsk, 357910

Letters of support can be sent by regular mail or through the «zonatelecom».

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

Biography

In June 2021, representatives of the FSB disrupted the quiet life of Anna Safronova, a 55-year-old resident of Astrakhan, when they raided her house, where she lives with her 81-year-old mother.

Anna was born in July 1965 in Volgograd. As a child, she studied music — she sang in a choir, performed in an ensemble, graduated from a music school in the violin class.

After school, Anna entered the Volgograd Polytechnic Institute and graduated in 1987 with a degree in foundry mechanical engineer. She worked as a design engineer at the Kherson Combine Plant named after G. I. Petrovsky (Ukraine), where she and her husband were sent for distribution as young specialists. Later, Anna had to master different professions: she was a worker, a storekeeper and a senior accountant at the Slavyanka confectionery factory, an operator at a news agency, and a cleaner.

In 1998, Anna was widowed. Her son was 11 years old at the time. A boy from adolescence tried to earn extra money every vacation to help his mother. After school, he graduated from the Volgograd Construction College.

Anna writes poetry, she especially likes to make friendly cartoons in poetry for her friends.

In 1994, Anna began to study the Bible. In this book, she especially liked the fact that God wants to unite people of different nationalities, cultures and social status into one big spiritual family. This deeply touched her heart, and in 1996 she became one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

In 2014, Anna moved to Astrakhan. She has been out of work since November 2020, as she is caring for an elderly mother.

The criminal prosecution left an imprint on the emotional state of both women. Anna and her mother experienced especially severe stress during the first search, when they suddenly heard loud knocks with their fists and feet on their door.

Anna's relatives worry about her, although everyone is firmly convinced of her innocence in the crime imputed to her. They understand that Anna, like many other Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, is being persecuted only for their faith in Jehovah God.

Case History

In June 2020, Anna Safronova became a witness in a case against four believers from Astrakhan, and her apartment was searched. A year later, the investigation initiated a criminal case against the believer herself, accusing her of participating in the activities of an extremist organization and its financing. The woman was included in the list of extremists of Rosfinmonitoring and her bank accounts were blocked. Soon, the apartment, where Anna’s elderly mother also lived, was searched again. Safronova was placed under house arrest. At the end of January 2022, Anna was sentenced to 6 years in prison, which was an unprecedentedly harsh sentence for female Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia. The higher courts approved the verdict. Since 2024, the administration of the colony in Zelenokumsk has begun to create unbearable conditions of detention for Anna.
Timeline
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