Updated: April 26, 2024
Name: Mikhaylenko Irina Viktorovna
Date of Birth: February 21, 1969
Current status: who has served the main sentence
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Sentence: penalty in the form of a fine in the amount of 120,000 rubles

Biography

In October 2021, Irina Mikhailenko, the director of the law firm, was searched, after which the Investigative Committee questioned her, as well as her relatives who are not Jehovah's Witnesses. The reason for the attention of the operatives was not any crimes, but faith in God.

Irina was born in February 1969 in Chelyabinsk. Her mother is now retired and her father died in 2005. She has a younger brother.

As a child, Irina was involved in athletics. Irina graduated from the Ural State Law Academy. She worked in the field of jurisprudence: assistant notary, head of the state notary's office, head of the legal department of a housing organization. She now works as a director and co-founder of a law firm.

Starting a Bible study, Irina came to the conclusion that this book is accurate and convincing, and also contains principles that help in various life situations. In 1997, she made the decision to embark on the Christian path.

In 2002, Irina married Dmitry. The couple have two adult sons. In her free time, Irina likes to organize holidays, grow flowers on the "alpine slides" and pick wild berries.

The criminal prosecution had a negative impact on Irina's life: chronic diseases worsened, sleep was disturbed. Relatives who do not share Irina's convictions, as well as her work colleagues, consider the persecution of the believer unreasonable.

Case History

Searches of Jehovah’s Witnesses from Chelyabinsk in 2019 changed the lives of dozens of believers. Among them is Irina Mikhailenko, director of a law firm. The believer was a witness in the case of Valentina Suvorova, but in 2021 she herself became a suspect of participating in extremist activities. Mikhailenko’s house was searched again. The Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Chelyabinsk Region accused the believer of “directly participating in and personally speaking in … religious meetings”, singing songs and saying prayers. Mikhailenko was also accused of attending an international convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses in South Korea. In July 2022, the trial began. In April 2023, the court sentenced the believer to a fine of 120,000 rubles. The appellate court upheld the verdict.