Sorokina Nataliya

Name: Sorokina Nataliya Igorevna
Date of Birth: March 12, 1975
Current status: who has served the main sentence
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 188 day in a pre-trial detention, 193 day Under house arrest
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 and religious organizations for a period of 3 years, with restriction of liberty for a term of 1 year; The sentence of imprisonment shall be considered suspended with a probationary period of 3 years

Biography

On October 7, 2018, a group of FSB officers and SOBR fighters arrested Natalia Sorokina, a civilian resident of the city of Sychevka (Smolensk region). She was placed in a pre-trial detention center, where she spent more than 6 months. Then, after more than a year of investigation and 16 months of trials, the believer was found guilty and sentenced to 6 years of probation just because of her faith in Jehovah God.

Natalia Sorokina was born in 1975 in Dresden (Germany). Later she lived in St. Petersburg, and in recent years she has been living in Sychevka. As a child, she was fond of sports. She received a professional education as a nurse and hairdresser, successfully worked in these areas. He loves needlework, enjoys learning foreign languages.

As a health worker, Natalia was impressed by what she once learned from the Bible about the creation of man, life on Earth and human life. This developed in her a craving for the spiritual, which only intensified over the years. It is difficult for Natalia and her friends to understand the reasons for the criminal prosecution.

Case History

Sychevka is a city of compact residence of followers of the Old Believers. Nurse Natalia Sorokina and tour guide Maria Troshina spent more than six months in jail because they believe in Jehovah God and try to live according to the biblical commandments. In 2018, the FSB accused them of “religious hatred” and of “organizing the activities of a banned organization.” At the same time, law enforcement officers cynically mentioned that “the state guarantees the equality of human and civil rights and freedoms, regardless of their attitude to religion.” Natalia’s health deteriorated during the period of her stay in the pre-trial detention center. On April 22, 2021, Arkady Likhachev, judge of the Sychevsky District Court of the Smolensk Region, sentenced the believers to 6 years of suspended imprisonment with a probation period of 3 years. In September 2021, the appellate court upheld this decision.
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