Guzeva Anastasiya

Name: Guzeva Anastasiya Vladimirovna
Date of Birth: October 9, 1979
Current status: who has served the main sentence
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Sentence: punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 2 years 6 months with restriction of liberty for 1 year, a sentence of imprisonment shall be considered conditional with a probationary period of 2 years

Biography

Anastasia Guzeva is one of the residents of Birobidzhan, against whom criminal cases were initiated in February 2020. She, like other peaceful women, is suspected of extremism. What do we know about her?

Anastasia was born in 1979 in Birobidzhan. She has two brothers. All three were raised by their mother alone. Anastasia loved to study, read a lot, went in for sports and ballroom dancing.

At the age of 10, Anastasia discovered a Bible from her grandmother. The inquisitive girl had many questions. Thus began her personal journey of seeking God. Over time, she and her mother began to study this Bible seriously. In 1995, they were baptized together in Christianity.

In 2001, Anastasia married Konstantin, who moved to Birobidzhan from Khabarovsk. Konstantin was engaged in the decoration of apartments, Anastasia tried her hand at maintaining her own grocery store.

The Guzevs never hid the fact that they were believers. When they were searched for the first time in May 2018, it was a real shock for Anastasia. Another blow was the initiation of a criminal case against Konstantin in July 2019. Finally, in 2020, a case was initiated against Anastasia herself. The criminal prosecution destroyed the usual way of life of a peaceful family and confused numerous relatives, including Anastasia's 71-year-old mother.

Case History

In February 2020, Dmitry Yankin, a forensic investigator of the Federal Security Service of Russia for the Jewish Autonomous Region, opened criminal cases for their faith against six women from Birobidzhan at once. One of them was Anastasia Guzeva, whose husband Konstantin had been under investigation since July 2019. The peaceful believer was accused of participating in the activities of an extremist organization only on the basis of religion. In September 2020, closed hearings began in the Birobidzhan District Court under the chairmanship of Judge Vasilina Bezotecheskikh. Prosecution witness Yulia Zvereva, who conducted operational search activities together with the FSB, said that she had not heard any extremist statements from the defendant. On July 23, 2021, the prosecutor requested 4 years of imprisonment and 2 years of restriction of liberty for Anastasia. On August 19, 2021, the court found the believer guilty and sentenced her to 2.5 years of probation, 2 years of probation and 1 year of restriction of freedom. In December 2021, the appeal upheld the verdict.
Timeline
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