Biography
On June 18, 2019, in Ussuriysk (Primorye Territory), security forces searched the apartment of a local resident, Dmitry Tishchenko, who was charged under a criminal article based on religion. The investigation found out that he met with friends in a café and talked there about the Bible. What do we know about this man?
Dmitry was born in 1984 in Ussuriysk. His grandmother and parents were believers, so they sought to instill biblical canons and commandments in their children - Dmitry and his older sister Elena.
After graduating from school, Dmitry entered a technical school, graduated with honors and received the specialty "technician-merchant", but recently he worked as a janitor. He likes to travel.
In 2003 he met Anastasia, a year later they got married. The wife was also always drawn to God, looking for the truth in different churches.
After the search, it is psychologically difficult for Dmitry and Anastasia to return home every time. Because of the recognizance not to leave, it became impossible to make plans. Dmitry's parents are worried that their son may end up behind bars, and his acquaintances cannot understand what exactly he is guilty of.
Case History
In June 2019 in the city of Ussuriysk, searches were conducted in the homes of peaceful citizens Sergey Korolchuk and Dmitriy Tishchenko. The searches were conducted because of a criminal case under Article 282.2(1) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation initiated by E. Marvanyuk, the investigator of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Primorsky Territory. The third defendant was Anton Chermnykh, the father of a young child. The case was based on the testimony of FSB officer K. Rusakov, who for about a year followed the believers and listened in on Tishchenko’s telephone conversations. In the opinion of the investigation, by meeting friends in a cafe to discuss the Bible, the men committed “a crime against the foundations of the constitutional order and the security of the State.” The believers were under house arrest for almost three years. In September 2020 Judge Dmitry Babushkin began considering the case in the Ussuriysky District Court. The defense emphasized that the key witness gave false testimony, and expert Oleshkevich made a biased and incompetent conclusion. On November 30, 2022, the judge found the believers guilty and gave them six-year suspended prison sentences, and in May 2023 the appellate court upheld this decision.
