Name: Yakovlev Valeriy Porfirevich
Date of Birth: March 10, 1968
Current status: who has served the main sentence
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Sentence: penalty in the form of a fine of 400,000 rubles

Biography

The father of many children, Valeriy Yakovlev, was prosecuted for his religious beliefs, which seriously affected his health - the believer's chronic illness worsened.

Valeriy Yakovlev was born on March 10, 1968 in the village of Vurmankas-Yadrino (Chuvashia). He has a younger sister. As a child, Valeriy played the guitar in a school ensemble, and also went in for sports: he played football, basketball and volleyball, which he loves most of all.

After school, Valeriy studied as a commodity expert at the Cheboksary cooperative technical school. For a long time he worked as a sales assistant in trading companies, and now he works as a plumber.

While studying at the technical school, Valeriy met his future wife Nadezhda, and in 1989 they got married. Three children were born in the marriage - two sons and a daughter. Previously, when health allowed, Valeriy and Nadezhda enjoyed playing volleyball together. As in his school years, Valeriy plays the guitar. Nadezhda is a pastry chef by profession. She is interested in baking: bakes pizza, pies and cakes. She currently works as a lifter.

When his grandmother died, Valeriy began to think about where the dead are after death. He was comforted by the resurrection hope he had read about in the Bible. In addition, he was glad to know that one can approach God. Therefore, in 1996, Valeriy decided to become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. His wife shares his views on life. Nadezhda notes that she was very affected by the friendly attitude of other believers, and she saw the manifestation of true love in practice.

Case History

In November 2020, insurance agent Vladimir Dutkin was searched. Two days earlier, FSB investigator Mukhin opened a criminal case against him under an extremist article, and they took a written undertaking not to leave the place. In June 2021, Valery Yakovlev and Vladimir Chesnokov became new defendants in the case. They were accused of meeting with fellow believers in rented premises, discussing religion and drinking tea. In July 2021, the case went to court. Independent examinations refuted the accusations and found that the believers “called for honesty, restraint, and patience in relation to dissidents.” Six months later, the prosecutor requested from 6 to 6.5 years in prison for believers. In February 2022, the judge sentenced the believers to a fine: Vladimir Dutkin — 500 thousand rubles, the rest — 400 thousand rubles each. In April 2022, this sentence was upheld by the Court of Appeal. In August 2022, the Court of Cassation upheld the verdict and decision of the appellate instance.
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