Name: Yermakov Mikhail Efimovich
Date of Birth: October 29, 1962
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Current restrictions: suspended sentence
Sentence: punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 6 years with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to leadership and participation in the work of public and religious associations and organizations for a term of 4 years, with restriction of liberty for a term of 1 year, a sentence of imprisonment shall be considered suspended with a probationary period of 3 years

Biography

In June 2021, a civilian resident of the small town of Alatyr in the middle Volga region faced groundless persecution for his belief in Jehovah God. A criminal case was initiated against Mikhail Yermakov under an extremist article.

Mikhail was born in October 1962 in Alatyr (Chuvashia). He has an older sister. His mother is a disabled person of group I, his father is no longer alive. As a child, Mikhail loved to be in nature, pick mushrooms, fish.

Mikhail graduated from the Alatyr Technological College. He worked as an installer of steel and reinforced concrete structures, and then as a 5th category blower in the wood chemical industry.

In 1990, Mikhail moved to Stavropol, where he worked at the Analogue electronic materials and devices plant. For some time he lived in Novocheboksarsk and Petrovsk-Zabaikalsky.

In 1996, Mikhail embarked on the Christian path. In the Bible, he was impressed by the logic of the presentation of events, the fulfillment of prophecies, and the scientific accuracy of this book.

In 2007, Mikhail returned to Alatyr to take care of his elderly father and help him with the housework, got a job as a janitor. Mikhail loves to grow flowers, berries, vegetables and pick mushrooms.

The criminal prosecution affected Mikhail's health: due to unfounded accusations and threats from the security forces, his heart disease worsened. Also, the believer faces financial difficulties, because due to calls to the investigator during working hours, he loses part of his salary.

Mikhail's relatives worry about him and consider the criminal prosecution groundless and unfair.

Case History

In June 2021, the FSB of Russia initiated a criminal case against unidentified persons, and a week later, a series of searches were carried out in Alatyr at the homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The family of Andrey Martynov was subjected to investigative actions twice (the first search took place in 2012). The law enforcement officers seized electronic devices, photographs, personal notes, drawings and other items, with inscriptions mentioning the name of God - Jehovah. In April 2022, Andrey and Nina Martynov, Mikhail Yermakov and Zoya Pavlova were charged: the men with organizing the activitiy of an extremist organization, and the women with involvement and participation in it. In July 2022, the case against the believers went to court, and in December of the same year, the court gave the women a fine of 350,000 rubles, and the men a 6-year suspended sentence. After 2 months, the verdict entered into force by the decision of the appellate instance.