Name: Rogozin Valeriy Anatoliyevich
Date of Birth: March 25, 1962
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1), 282.3 (1)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 398 day in a pre-trial detention, 1001 day in prison
Sentence: punishment in the form of 6 years and 5 months of imprisonment to be served in a penal colony of general regime; with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to the management and participation in the work of public religious organizations for a period of 4 years and 6 months; with restriction of liberty for a period of 1 year 3 months
Currently held in: Correctional Colony No. 6 of the Udmurtian Republic
Address for correspondence: Rogozin Valeriy Anatoliyevich, born 1962, Correctional Colony No. 6 of the Udmurtian Republic, Ul. Zavodskaya, 2A, st. Lyuga, Mozhginskiy district, Udmurtian Republic, 427750

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

Parcels and parcels should not be sent because of the limit on their number per year.

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

Biography

In September 2021, a court in Volgograd sentenced four civilians to real prison terms for their faith in Jehovah God. One of them is a former military pilot Valeriy Rogozin.

Valeriy was born in 1962 in Krasnokamsk (Perm region). As a child, he liked to go camping in the taiga overnight, practiced sports.

After finishing school, he entered the Kacha Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots in Volgograd. Thus began a new page in Valeriy's life, which connected him with this city. He served as a military pilot. After 12 years in the army, he worked for many years as a design engineer.

In 1984, Valeriy married Marina, a teacher by profession. The spouses brought up two sons. In his spare time Valeriy likes to do landscape design and repair work around the house. In the 1990s, Valeriy discovered the astounding wisdom of the Bible and since then has tried to live up to its high moral standards.

In May 2019, a court sent four peaceful Volgograd citizens to prison, all the "guilt" of which was to confess the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Valeriy Rogozin was among them. The 7.5 months he spent in the pre-trial detention center drastically undermined his health so that he needed long-term treatment.

"Valeriy's relatives, neighbors, employees and former coworkers are outraged by the unfair arrest and worry about us," said his wife Marina.

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.
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