Komarov Vitaliy

Name: Komarov Vitaliy Viktorovich
Date of Birth: February 23, 1976
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 3 day in a temporary detention facility, 376 day in a pre-trial detention, 896 day Under house arrest, 225 day in prison
Sentence: punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 6 years 3 months with serving a sentence in a correctional colony of general regime, with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to leadership and participation in the work of public organizations for a period of 3 years, with restriction of liberty for a period of 1 year
Currently held in: Correctional Colony No. 5 of the Orel Region
Address for correspondence: Komarov Vitaliy Viktorovich, born 1976, Correctional Colony No. 5 of the Orel Region, Ul. Zavodskaya, 62, poselok Naryshkino, Orel Region, 303900

Letters of support can be sent by regular mail or through the «FSIN-letter system». To pay for service with the card of a foreign bank use Prisonmail.

Parcels and parcels should not be sent because of the limit on their number per year.

Note: discussing topics related to criminal prosecution is not allowed in letters; languages other than Russian will not pass.

Biography

Vitaliy Komarov, a native Muscovite and father of two minor children, was one of those whom the security forces broke into in November 2020. This was the beginning of the criminal prosecution of the believer, as a result of which he was sentenced to 6 years in prison.

Vitaliy was born in 1976 in Moscow. He has a younger brother. Their mother, a former nurse, is now retired, and their father died in 2006. As a child, Vitaliy collected stamps, and was engaged in athletics at the Olympic Center named after the Znamenskiy brothers. After school, he graduated from the Sergo Ordzhonikidze State University of Management.

From 1998 to 2006, Vitaliy Komarov headed his own company. Then he worked for 5 years as a manager for the development of tourism and recreation in the regions of Russia. Since 2011, he worked as the head of the department of the Moscow branch of the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network. Vitaliy has several state awards, including the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree. Before the criminal prosecution, Vitaliy was fond of beekeeping.

In 1999, Vitaliy married Yelena, an accountant by education. The couple have two sons. Relatives and friends are sure that the persecution of Vitaliy is a huge mistake. Addressing the court with his last plea, the believer said: "My sincere desire, as well as that of my fellow believers, is to lead a quiet, peaceful life and to worship Jehovah God as he desires."

Case History

In November 2020, a big special operation took place in Moscow—22 searches in the homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Vardan Zakaryan was hospitalized due to injuries inflicted by the security forces. He, as well as Vitaliy Komarov, Yuriy Chernyshev, Ivan Tchaikovskiy and Sergey Shatalov were placed in an isolation ward at 38 Petrovka Street. The believers were accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization, and Zakaryan was accused of being involved in it. It is noteworthy that Tchaikovskiy in 2010, through the ECHR, obtained compensation for the violation of his rights due to the illegal liquidation of the Moscow community of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In the winter of 2022, the case went to court. The accusation was based on the testimony of the FSB agent “Makarov”, who feigned an interest in the Bible. In March 2023, the court sentenced Tchaikovsky, Komarov, Chernyshev and Shatalov to 6 years and 3 months in prison, and Zakaryan to 4 years and 3 months in prison. The appeal upheld this decision in April 2024.
Timeline
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