Name: Pike Sean Antonio
Date of Birth: October 29, 1971
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 1142 day in a pre-trial detention
Current restrictions: detention center
Sentence: Punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 7 years with serving the sentence in a correctional colony of the general regime, with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to leadership and participation in the work of public religious organizations for 7 years, with restriction of liberty for a period of 1 year
Currently held in: Detention Center No. 2 in Moscow
Address for correspondence: Pike Sean Antonio, born 1971, SIZO No. 2 in Moscow, ul. Novoslobodskaya, 45, Moscow, Russia, 127055

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.

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

Biography

Sean Pike, a former employee of the Ministry of Transport of Guyana, has been living in Russia for more than 20 years. He is known as a responsible professional in the field of building design, as well as a peaceful believer, Jehovah's Witness. It was because of this belief that he was detained and thrown into a pre-trial detention center, accused of extremism.

Sean was born in 1971 in Georgetown, Guyana, South America. His parents divorced, but his father maintained good relations with his son and took him to his place on weekends and holidays. Sean's mother, Juliet, married a second time and soon the boy had a younger brother and sister. Juliet worked as a cook, the family lived poorly, and the children from an early age understood that they needed to work hard. The woman belonged to one of the Christian denominations and tried to instill in all her children faith in God.

Since childhood, Sean read a lot and studied well. For good academic performance, he was assigned to one of the most prestigious schools. Sean graduated with honors and entered the hundred best students in the country. He was offered to continue his education at a university abroad. There were several countries to choose from, and the young man chose Russia, about which he had heard a lot and wanted to go there. Sean entered the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia at the Faculty of Industrial and Civil Engineering, graduated with honors from the magistracy.

In the late 1990s, Sean began to study the Bible seriously. He was particularly touched by the depth and wisdom of the biblical counsel, as well as the good qualities of the people who applied it to their lives. In 1997, Sean was determined to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

In 2001, Sean married a Russian girl, Tatiana. The young family settled in Guyana, in Georgetown. There, Sean worked in the Ministry of Transport in the state program for the construction and repair of roads, and also underwent additional training in his specialty in Trinidad, Brazil, Japan and other countries.

In 2008, the couple decided to return to Russia, to Moscow. In the same year, their eldest daughter was born, and in 2014, the youngest. Since 2012, Sean has worked for an international construction company, and in recent years as a senior project team leader. The company's management appreciates him as a conscientious and responsible employee and has repeatedly sent him letters of thanks.

When the eldest daughter of Sean and Tatiana was 5 years old, she fell ill, she was assigned the II disability group. Despite the girl's illness, the couple try to maintain a cheerful mood of both daughters. The sisters play music, participate in school events, city competitions, and in the evenings like to read with their dad. The family's favorite pastime is trips to the sights of Moscow and the Moscow region. Sean and Tatiana like to find new beautiful places, parks and spend time there with the whole family.

The arrest of Sean Pike turned the family's life upside down and shocked everyone who knows him. His bank accounts were blocked. Sean's father, brother and uncles wrote letters to all sorts of authorities, hoping for justice. The management of the company where Sean worked before his arrest is also worried about his highly qualified employee and expresses support for his wife. Taking care of the material needs of the family fell entirely on the shoulders of Tatiana.

Case History

In August 2021, three Jehovah’s Witnesses, Eduard Sviridov, Sean Pike, and Aleksandr Rumyantsev, were arrested after searches in Moscow’s Tepliy Stan District. For practicing their religion, they were accused of organizing the activity of an extremist organization. The believers were placed in a pretrial detention center, where they spent 2 years and 4 months. In the first days of his imprisonment, Sean Pike, father of two and a RUDN University graduate from Guyana, was placed in an overcrowded cell and forced to sleep on the floor. In October 2021, Pike had COVID. The case went to court in November 2022. The charges were based on hidden audio recordings made in Sviridov’s home. After 13 months, the case ended with a guilty verdict. The court sent the believers to a penal colony: Aleksandr Rumyantsev for 7.5 years, Sean Pike for 7 years, and Eduard Sviridov for 6.5 years.