Litvinyuk Aleksandr

Updated: April 26, 2024
Name: Litvinyuk Aleksandr Viktorovich
Date of Birth: November 3, 1960
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, 105 day in a pre-trial detention, 399 day Under house arrest, 407 day in prison
Sentence: punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 6 years with restriction of liberty for a term of 1 year with serving the main sentence in a correctional colony of general regime
Currently held in: Penal Colony No. 6 in Ivanovo Region
Address for correspondence: Litvinyuk Aleksandr Viktorovich, born 1960, IK No. 6 in Ivanovo region, ul. Shkolnaya, 10, s. Talicy, Ivanovo Region, Russia, 155644

Letters of support can be sent by regular mail or through the «zonatelecom».

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

Aleksandr Litvinyuk, a pensioner from Crimea, raised a son and worked for many years at state-owned companies and factories. In 2021, law enforcement officers accused him of extremism merely for believing in Jehovah God. In the winter of 2022, the court sentenced the believer to six years in a penal colony.

Aleksandr was born in November 1960 in the village of Amangeldy (Kazakhstan), where his parents moved soon after their wedding. Aleksandr has an older brother and a younger sister.

As a child, Aleksandr was fond of boxing, playing checkers and wood carving—his work was once even exhibited in the regional event center. After school, he graduated from a vocational school, where he learned to be a chemical production mechanic. He worked at the Khimprom plant in the city of Sumy, Ukraine. Then he moved to Crimea, where he continued to work in his profession at various companies. Before retiring, he worked for eight years as a welder in the city of Armyansk at the Titan plant.

In the autumn of 1979, Aleksandr married Nadezhda. They have an adult son named Sergey. Nadezhda loves to grow indoor flowers, and Aleksandr is learning the art of decorative plaster and enjoys making wooden furniture.

In 1993, in Kyiv, the couple began their Christian life together. Alexander has been interested in spiritual things since childhood. When he was six years old, he heard adults conversing about the "end of the world", which made a strong impression on him. Over the years, Aleksandr had more and more questions, for example: if God is good, then why is there so much evil and suffering in the world? Such questions remained unanswered until Aleksandr and Nadezhda began to study the Bible.

The search of their home and the criminal prosecution seriously affected the health of this married couple. The invasion of their home by law enforcement officers in August 2021 was a very difficult experience for them. It left them feeling humiliated and defenseless. Nadezhda's chronic illnesses worsened. Aleksandr and Nadezhda's son worries about his parents and supports them in every possible way.

Case History

In August 2021, the FSB initiated a criminal case against Crimeans Aleksandr Litvinyuk and Aleksandr Dubovenko, accusing them of organizing the activities of an extremist organization. A few days later, their homes were searched. Litvinyuk was detained and interrogated. Dubovenko, who was absent on the day of the search, was later also detained. His home was searched again. The believers spent more than a year under house arrest. The case went to court in March 2022. It was based on the testimony of a secret witness; the judge refused to declassify the identity of this witness. During the trial, the judge repeatedly denied pensioner Litvinyuk’s requests to visit a doctor; she also denied the request to attach 27 documents as evidence of the defendants’ innocence. In addition, during the questioning of defense witnesses, she interrupted them and expressed her negative attitude towards the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In December 2022, the court sentenced the believers to six years in a penal colony. The appellate court upheld this sentence.
Timeline