Biography
On July 13, 2020 law enforcement agencies of Voronezh region conducted a large-scale special operation against Jehovah's Witnesses. Among the victims - 51-year-old Anatoly Yagupov, who was tortured by law enforcement officials.
Anatoly Yagupov was born in October 1968 in Voronezh. As a child, he was fond of radio engineering. After graduating from school, he worked on milling machines. Recently he has been working in the field of cleaning.
In 1996 he married Larisa and they have a daughter.
Loves fishing and construction, he built his own house.
For a long time Anatoly was worried about the future. The answers to his questions, found in the Bible, prompted him to become a Christian. His wife supports him in the chosen beliefs.
Anatoly's criminal prosecution led to the loss of his job and a sharp deterioration in his health - his chronic diseases had worsened.
Case History
On a single day, July 13, 2020, 110 searches were carried out in seven localities of the Voronezh region—a record-breaking operation against Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia. Five believers reported being tortured by law enforcement officers. The Investigative Committee charged ten men (aged 24 to 56 at that moment) with organizing extremist activity and sent them to pre-trial detention, where most remained for nearly five months. The events in Voronezh sparked widespread public outcry: EU countries, as well as the United Kingdom and the United States, expressed regret and bewilderment over what had happened. The believers themselves deny any guilt in extremism and emphasize that, as Christians, they respect the authorities and peacefully practice their faith in accordance with constitutional rights. The trial began in December 2021. Nearly four years later, the believers were sentenced to various punishments—ranging from six years of suspended sentence to seven years in colony.
