Galka Yuriy

Name: Galka Yuriy Yuriyevich
Date of Birth: October 28, 1975
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, 194 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

Galka Yuriy Yuriyevich, born 1975, 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 the summer of 2020, Jehovah's Witnesses in the Voronezh Region were searched—110 homes in one day. Yuriy Galka ended up in the pre-trial detention center along with 9 other local believers. He was among those who reported torture by law enforcement officers. After 5.5 years, the court sentenced the believer to 6 years in a penal colony.

Yuriy was born in 1975 in the Ukrainian city of Marganets. He is the eldest child in a large family—he has a sister and two brothers. When the boy was 2, the family moved to Tajikistan. As a child, Yuriy loved to read, was fond of shooting and karate.

While the young man was studying at the Russian Tajik University in philology, there was a civil war in Tajikistan. Many families, including Yuriy's, were starving. To help his family, he combined his studies with a job as a journalist for a local television and radio company, as well as an elevator operator and a construction worker.

At that difficult time Yuriy got acquainted with the biblical teachings confessed by Jehovah's Witnesses. The biblical truth touched his heart. As a child, he often participated in fights, but through the study of the Holy Scriptures, he learned to love peace.

After graduation, the young man moved to Voronezh, and later his whole family joined him. Here Yuriy mastered the specialties of a loader and tiler.

In 2009, Yuriy married Nadezhda. Modesty of the young man, his tactfulness, reliability, humor and self-esteem attracted the girl. Together they bring up Nadezhda's daughter, instilling her spiritual values. As a family, they love to spend time with friends, including outdoors.

Although Yuriy's family and colleagues do not share his religious views, they are bewildered by the criminal prosecution of a believer. His family misses Yuriy and waits for him at home. The believer himself is convinced that justice will eventually be restored.

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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