Biography
In September 2021, a court in Volgograd sentenced four civilians to real prison terms for believing in Jehovah God. One of them is Igor Egozaryan.
Igor was born in 1965 in Volgograd in a simple working-class family. He has a younger sister. As a child, he was fond of music, independently mastered the guitar and performed in an amateur music group at school evenings. After graduating from school, he worked as a shoemaker, builder and electrician.
In the early 1990s, thanks to his mother, Igor first became acquainted with the teachings of the Bible. He was struck by its logic and simplicity.
Igor's relatives are outraged by the unfair sentence passed on him only because of his religious views. Igor's mother, who is already over 80, is especially worried. When the believer was thrown behind bars, the elderly woman lost the much-needed support of her son.
Case History
In the spring of 2019, the Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against believers from Volgograd. Sergey Melnik, Igor Egozaryan, Valeriy Rogozin and Denis Peresunko were accused of organizing an extremist organization, and the latter two were also accused of financing it. They spent 5 to 7 months in the detention center. Lawyers drew the attention of Judge Irina Struk to numerous violations by the investigation. Some witnesses stated that their testimonies were falsified. Secret witnesses were interrogated incognito — according to them, they feared for their lives and health. In September 2021, the court sentenced four believers to prison terms ranging from 6 years to 6 years and 5 months. In March 2022, a court of appeal upheld the verdict. In August of the same year, Igor Egozaryan, Denis Peresunko and Valeriy Rogozin were taken 1,200 km from their home to correctional colony No. 6 in the Republic of Udmurtia, and Sergey Melnik was later transferred to correctional colony No. 5 in the Kirov Region.
