Safronova Anna

Name: Safronova Anna Arnoldovna
Date of Birth: July 22, 1965
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2), 282.3 (1)
Time spent in prison: 1 day in a temporary detention facility, 79 day in a pre-trial detention, 236 day Under house arrest, 982 day in prison
Sentence: punishment in the form of 6 years of imprisonment with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to leadership and participation in the work of public organizations for a term of 3 years; with restriction of liberty for a period of 1 year; with serving a sentence of deprivation of liberty in a penal colony of general regime
Currently held in: Correctional Colony No. 7 of the Stavropol Territory
Address for correspondence: Safronova Anna Arnoldovna, born 1965, Correctional Colony No. 7 of the Stavropol Territory, ul. Pochtovaya, 78, Stavropol Territory, Zelenokumsk, 357910

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

In June 2021, representatives of the FSB disrupted the quiet life of Anna Safronova, a 55-year-old resident of Astrakhan, when they raided her house, where she lives with her 81-year-old mother.

Anna was born in July 1965 in Volgograd. As a child, she studied music — she sang in a choir, performed in an ensemble, graduated from a music school in the violin class.

After school, Anna entered the Volgograd Polytechnic Institute and graduated in 1987 with a degree in foundry mechanical engineer. She worked as a design engineer at the Kherson Combine Plant named after G. I. Petrovsky (Ukraine), where she and her husband were sent for distribution as young specialists. Later, Anna had to master different professions: she was a worker, a storekeeper and a senior accountant at the Slavyanka confectionery factory, an operator at a news agency, and a cleaner.

In 1998, Anna was widowed. Her son was 11 years old at the time. A boy from adolescence tried to earn extra money every vacation to help his mother. After school, he graduated from the Volgograd Construction College.

Anna writes poetry, she especially likes to make friendly cartoons in poetry for her friends.

In 1994, Anna began to study the Bible. In this book, she especially liked the fact that God wants to unite people of different nationalities, cultures and social status into one big spiritual family. This deeply touched her heart, and in 1996 she became one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

In 2014, Anna moved to Astrakhan. She has been out of work since November 2020, as she is caring for an elderly mother.

The criminal prosecution left an imprint on the emotional state of both women. Anna and her mother experienced especially severe stress during the first search, when they suddenly heard loud knocks with their fists and feet on their door.

Anna's relatives worry about her, although everyone is firmly convinced of her innocence in the crime imputed to her. They understand that Anna, like many other Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, is being persecuted only for their faith in Jehovah God.

Case History

In June 2020, Anna Safronova’s apartment was searched, and she became a witness in a case against four believers from Astrakhan. A year later, the investigation initiated a criminal case against the believer herself, accusing her of participating in the activities of an extremist organization and financing it. She was included on the Rosfinmonitoring list of extremists, and her bank accounts were blocked. Soon after, the apartment, where Anna’s mother, who is over 80, also lived, was searched again. Safronova was placed under house arrest. In November 2021, her case went to court, and by the end of January 2022, Anna was sentenced to six years in a penal colony, which was an unprecedented harsh sentence for women who are Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia. This is exactly what the prosecutor requested. In April 2022, the Astrakhan Regional Court, and later the cassation court, approved this verdict.
Timeline
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