Skvortsov Aleksandr

Updated: May 3, 2024
Name: Skvortsov Aleksandr Viktorovich
Date of Birth: June 11, 1962
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, 623 day in a pre-trial detention, 255 day in prison
Sentence: punishment in the form of 7 years of imprisonment with serving in a penal colony of general regime, with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to leadership and participation in the work of public and religious organizations for a period of 2 years, with restriction of liberty for a period of 1 year
Currently held in: Penal Colony No. 3 in Ulyanovsk Region
Address for correspondence: Skvortsov Aleksandr Viktorovich, born 1962, IK No. 3 in Ulyanovsk Region, ul. Osipenko, 22, g. Dimitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk Region, Russia, 433510

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

Aleksandr Skvortsov knows firsthand what criminal prosecution for faith is. In 2011, a criminal case was opened against him and 15 other residents of Taganrog only because they did not stop reading the Bible and attending services. After several years of legal proceedings, Aleksandr was found guilty and sentenced to 5.5 years probation. After serving this sentence, in March 2021 he again became a victim of repression by Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.

Alexander was born in 1962 in Taganrog (Rostov region). He has a younger brother. Their mothers are already in their 80s. In his youth, Alexander was engaged in artistic gymnastics. He grew up to be a hardworking man. He especially likes to work with his hands.

After school, Alexander graduated from the Polytechnic College, where he received the profession of a welder and worked at the plant for many years. Employees at work respected and appreciated him, considering him a reliable person and a master of his craft.

In 1983, Alexander married Larisa. They had two daughters, Elena and Daria, whom they lovingly raised in the spirit of Christian values. Both are married, the eldest has a daughter.

In the 1990s, when Alexander began to study the Bible after his wife, he was interested in the hope described in this book that soon there would be no injustice in the world. Thanks to the knowledge gained, Alexander found the real meaning of life. In 1996, Larisa embarked on the Christian path, and a year later her husband joined her.

In his youth, Alexander was fond of fishing and wrote poetry. Now retired, he enjoys tending the garden and doing beekeeping, which has become his favorite thing. He is always happy to share honey with friends and family. The Skvortsovs love to travel and, looking at nature, reflect on the Creator.

The new search and arrest of Aleksandr came as a shock to the whole family. Larisa is in poor health, she is registered in an oncological hospital. The fact that her husband was thrown behind bars became an additional stress for her. Relatives are worried about the believer, as Alexander has heart problems.

Neighbors and friends speak of Alexander as an exceptionally peaceful person, always ready to help. They wonder why law enforcement officers treated the believer so unfairly, although he did not commit any crime.

Case History

Aleksandr Skvortsov is one of those convicted in the high-profile “Case of 16”. Shortly after the believer had served his sentence in full, the security forces searched his house. Six months later, in December 2021, searches were carried out at the homes of 30 residents of Taganrog. Aleksandr was taken for interrogation and detained. In March 2022, Valeriy Tibiy also became a defendant in the criminal case. He was sent to jail despite being seriously ill. The third defendant in the case, Vladimir Moiseyenko, ended up in pre-trial detention in July of the same year. Investigators accused all three of organizing the activity of an extremist organization. The case went to court in November 2022. During the hearings, it turned out that the FSB had been monitoring them since 2016, and an undercover agent recorded his conversations about the Bible with the believers. In June 2023, Skvortsov and Moiseyenko were sentenced to 7 and 6 years in a penal colony, respectively, and Tibiy was given a 6-year suspended sentence. The court of appeal, and later the court of cassation, upheld this decision.
Timeline