Antyukhin Aleksey

Name: Antyukhin Aleksey Stanislavovich
Date of Birth: May 1, 1976
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 1 day in a temporary detention facility, 195 day in a pre-trial detention
Current restrictions: detention center
Sentence: imprisonment for a term of 6 years with serving in a general regime penal colony, with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to leadership and participation in the work of public religious organizations for a term of 5 years, with restriction of freedom for a term of 1 year
Currently held in: Detention Center No.1 for Voronezh Region

Antyukhin Aleksey Stanislavovich, born 1976, Detention Center No.1 for Voronezh Region, ul. Zhelyabova, 56, Voronezh, Voronezh Region, 394030

Letters of support can be sent by regular mail or through the F-pismo 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

In July 2020, because of a large-scale raid on Jehovah's Witnesses in the Voronezh region—110 searches in one day—Aleksey Antyukhin ended up in a pre-trial detention center along with 9 other local believers. After 5.5 years, the court sentenced him to 6 years in a penal colony.

Aleksey was born in Shymkent (Kazakhstan) in 1976. He grew up with his sister. In his youth, he was fond of sport shooting and cross-country skiing. He graduated from college with a degree in electric and gas welder and from the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys (MISiS) with a degree in engineering.

Before the criminal prosecution, Aleksey worked as an electric and gas welder and was also fond of construction. In his spare time, he enjoyed skiing and swimming.

Since 2013, Bible study has become an important part of Aleksey's life. In 2014, he married Natalya, and the couple moved to Voronezh. Five years later, they returned to Stary Oskol to take care of Aleksey's elderly mother, who had just become widowed.

After Aleksey's arrest, his wife and mother found it difficult to cope with rural life on their own, as he was the only breadwinner and helper in the family.

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 10 men (then aged 24 to 56) with organizing extremist activity and sent them to pretrial detention, where most remained for nearly 5 months. The events in Voronezh sparked widespread public outcry: EU countries, as well as the United Kingdom and the United States, expressed regret and dismay over what had happened. The believers deny any guilt in extremism and emphasize that, as Christians, they respect the authorities and peacefully practice their faith in accordance with their constitutional rights. The trial began in December 2021. Nearly 4 years later, the believers were given various punishments — ranging from a 6-year suspended sentence to 7 years in a penal colony.
Timeline
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