Name: Solnechny Aleksey Nikolayevich
Date of Birth: March 28, 1976
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1), 282.3 (1)
Time spent in prison: 1 day in a temporary detention facility, 1156 day in a pre-trial detention
Current restrictions: detention center
Sentence: punishment in the form of 7 years of imprisonment with serving a sentence in a general regime colony, with deprivation of the right to engage in organizational activities in public or religious associations, public or religious organizations for a term of 5 years, with restriction of liberty for a term of 1 year 2 months
Currently held in: Detention Center No.1 for Irkutsk Region
Address for correspondence: Solnechny Aleksey Nikolayevich, born 1976, Detention Center No.1 for Irkutsk Region, Ul. Barrikad, 63, Irkutsk, Irkutsk Region, 664019

Letters of support can be sent by regular mail or through the «FSIN-letter system». To pay for service with the card of a foreign bank use Prisonmail.

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

Biography

Jehovah's Witnesses living in Irkutsk have been persecuted for their peaceful confession of religion since the time of Operation "North". It seemed that these shameful pages of history were in the past, as the believers were rehabilitated. However, in October 2021, Aleksey Solnechny and six more Jehovah's Witnesses became new victims of religious persecution.

Aleksey was born in 1976 in the city of Abakan (Krasnoyarsk Territory). His mother and two younger sisters share his views on life. As a child, Aleksey was fond of playing the guitar, drawing, wood burning and reading books. Graduated from vocational technical school.

Aleksey worked in various fields: a carpenter at a school, a gas station operator. Now he is engaged in electrical installation. In his spare time, he enjoys reading books and writing poetry.

Aleksey pondered about the evidence for the existence of the Creator. Returning from the army, he engaged himself in a thorough study of the Bible. At that time, his mother was already talking about the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses. Although at first Aleksey was skeptical, over time, after examining the prophecies from the Holy Scriptures, he decided to live according to biblical principles.

From childhood, Aleksey lived in the Irkutsk region, mainly in the villages. After getting married in 2011, he and his wife, Alyona, moved to the village of Ust-Ordynsky (Buryat autonomous region).

Alyona loves nature and animals. The spouses like to spend time together, especially in the fresh air: to have picnics with their relatives around the fire, sing songs, communicate. Alyona works with children. Although it takes a lot of effort and time, she loves doing household chores, especially cooking and baking. The family has a common dream — to travel all over the world.

Criminal prosecution for his faith brought with it a lot of troubles: it separated Aleksey from his wife and family, deprived him of his job, and with her the ability to provide for his family, undermined Aleksey's reputation as a law-abiding citizen. After the searches, Alyona finds it difficult to come to her senses. She experiences tension, anxiety is caused by any unexpected knock on the door. Alyona shares: “It is emotionally very difficult to be at a distance from her husband. I miss him very much, miss him very much. Almost every night I shudder at the thought that everything will happen again."

Its employees say that it is unacceptable to initiate a criminal case solely on the basis of religious affiliation.

Those close to Aleksey, as well as his acquaintances, who are not Jehovah's Witnesses, also do not understand the reason for the unfair treatment of believers. In their opinion, Aleksey and extremism are absolutely incompatible concepts.

Case History

In October 2021, a series of searches took place in Irkutsk and the Irkutsk Region, which were accompanied by assault and brutal beatings of peaceful the believers. Jehovah's Witnesses Yaroslav Kalin, Sergey Kosteyev, Nikolay Martynov, Mikhail Moysh, Aleksey Solnechny, Andrey Tolmachev, and Sergey Vasilyev were accused of extremism only for their faith. After searches and interrogations, they were detained; six of them were sent to a pretrial detention center and one was placed under house arrest. Two months later, law enforcement officers conducted two more searches: in the village of Askiz (Republic of Khakassia) in the home of Denis Sarazhakov and in the city of Mezhdurechensk (Kemerovo Region) in the home of Igor Popov. Both of them were arrested, taken more than 1500 km to Irkutsk and placed in custody. In December 2022, the case of the believers went to court. In January 2024, the court sentenced them to various terms of imprisonment in a penal colony, from 3 to 7 years, satisfying the prosecutor’s request.
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