Name: Zhuk Vitaliy Vyacheslavovich
Date of Birth: April 8, 1972
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 175 day in a pre-trial detention, 369 day Under house arrest
Current restrictions: suspended sentence
Sentence: punishment in the form of 7 years 4 months of imprisonment, with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to leadership and participation in the work of a public religious organization, for a term of 5 years, with restriction of liberty for a term of 1 year, imprisonment shall be considered suspended with a probationary period of 5 years

Biography

In June 2024, Vitaliy Zhuk received a harsh sentence for his faith in Jehovah God. A hard-working family man from Khabarovsk was sentenced to 8 years and 4 months in a penal colony.

Vitaliy Zhuk was born in 1972 in Khabarovsk, but spent his childhood in the village of Krasnorechenskoye (Khabarovsk Territory). Five children were born in the family, of which Vitaliy was the third. He loved to spend time in nature and go to the field, the river and the forest with his father.

From the age of 17 until his arrest, Vitaliy worked as a welder, at work he was valued for his experience and responsibility. He is married to Tatyana, convicted on similar charges. The couple have two daughters.

When Vitaliy was about 20, he became very ill and was hospitalized. This event made him think seriously about the meaning of life. His spiritual quest led him to a Bible study, where he discovered convincing answers to his questions. Since then, faith in God has played an important role in his life.

Vitaliy said: "I have not always been a Christian. There was a time when I was very skeptical of everything I heard, especially beautiful promises. I looked for various tricks in them so as not to be deceived. But with regard to Bible promises, I have found many reasons why they can be trusted. In addition, thanks to the Bible, I was able to change my lifethinking, speaking, behaving. I got rid of bad habits and acquired useful ones. I learned to peacefully solve problems in relationships with other people."

Vitaliy's relatives know him as a kind, modest and sympathetic person. They see that Bible study has a beneficial effect on his whole family, and they cannot understand why he is behind bars.

Case History

In November 2018, OMON officers raided a friendly gathering in a café, after which Nikolay Polevodov, Stanislav Kim, Vitaliy and Tatyana Zhuk, Svetlana Sedova and Maya Karpushkina ended up under investigation. The men were sent to a pretrial detention center, and later placed under house arrest. In the end, the Investigative Committee charged the believers: the men with organizing the activity of an extremist organization, and the women with participating in it. Hearings of the court of first instance over 14 months, revealed the groundlessness of the charges, and the case was returned to the prosecutor’s office. In December 2021, it went to court again. In June 2024, Polevodov, Zhuk and Kim were sent to a penal colony for 8.5 years, 8 years and 4 months and 8 years and 2 months, respectively. Tatyana Zhuk and Svetlana Sedova were given a 5-year suspended sentence and Maya Karpushkina 4 years. Kim and Polevodov, who were defendants in another criminal case for their faith, simultaneously defended their beliefs in another court. In October 2024, the court of appeal reduced the sentences by 1 year and changed the men’s to suspended sentences.
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