Name: Olopova Sona Andranikovna
Date of Birth: April 18, 1987
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Time spent in prison: 436 day forced labor
Current restrictions: suspended sentence
Sentence: punishment in the form of 2 years of imprisonment, imprisonment shall be replaced by forced labor for a term of 2 years with the deduction of 10% of the salary to the state, with restriction of liberty for a period of 6 months

Biography

In May 2023, law enforcement officers invaded Sona Olopova's house. She became a defendant in a criminal case for her belief in Jehovah God and was later forced to defend her beliefs in court.

Sona was born in April 1987 in the city of Charentsavan (Armenia). She has two elder sisters. Their mother worked as a nurse all her life, their father worked as a master of dairy production at a factory and also as a finisher. Now parents are retired.

As a child, Sona loved to sing, dance and spend time with friends. When she was 10 years old, the family moved to Russia, to the city of Chapaevsk (Samara region).

After school, Sona worked in trade. Later, she mastered several professions in the field of beauty and combined the work of a merchandiser with the services of a hairstylist, makeup artist, as well as a master of eyebrow and eyelash design. In addition, she worked as a manicure master.

Sona first heard about Bible teachings from her mother when she was a child. After learning about God's promises and how Bible prophecies came true, she became imbued with confidence in the Bible. She became convinced of the practicality of the advice from this ancient book and decided to take the Christian path.

Sona had known her future husband, Anatoliy, since her teens. In 2008, they started dating and got married in 2009. Sona moved to live with Anatoliy in Togliatti. Her husband shares her views on life. Sona and Anatoliy cherish their relationship and strengthen family ties by spending a lot of time together: in their free time, they walk, read, watch movies and like to go hiking with friends.

In January 2024, the believer was sentenced to 2 years of forced labor. Speaking in court with the final statement, she noted: "My conscience is clear . . . before God, before the state and before other people. I stand before the court not as a criminal, but as a Christian, a believer."

A year and a half later, Sona was released early. According to the couple, the support of friends and family helped them during this difficult time.

Case History

In May 2023, in Tolyatti, officers of the Investigative Committee and the FSB broke into the homes of at least three families of believers, including that of Sona Olopova; a criminal case was initiated against her for her faith. After interrogation, she was made to sign a recognizance agreement. At the end of July 2023, the case went to court. There was a secret witness in the case who said that the meetings for worship were held without signs of extremism and were not related to the activity of any legal entity. The prosecutor requested the court sentence the believer to 4 years in a penal colony. In January 2024, she was sentenced to 2 years of forced labor. In April 2024 the court of appeal upheld this decision. In June 2025, the court granted Sona Olopova’s motion for parole, and she was released the following month.
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