Updated: March 18, 2024
Name: Turik Igor Valeryevich
Date of Birth: June 25, 1968
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1), 282.3 (1)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 99 day Under house arrest
Current restrictions: Suspended sentence
Sentence: punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 7 years with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to the leadership of religious associations for a term of 5 years, with restriction of liberty for a term of 1 year and 6 months; The main punishment in the form of imprisonment is considered suspended with a probationary period of 4 years

Biography

In 2018, a peaceful family man Igor Turik was detained in Perm. He was accused of 2 extremist articles at once only because of his faith in Jehovah God. For more than 3 years, he defended his good name in the courts, but in May 2021 he was found guilty and sentenced to 7 years of suspended imprisonment.

Igor was born in 1968 in Nelidovo (Tver region). He has a younger brother. Since childhood, Igor has been fond of photography and videography, as well as radio electronics. Later, he mastered the professions of photographer and architectural designer and successfully worked in these areas. For some time he lived in Anapa and Naberezhnye Chelny, and later settled in Perm. For 18 years, Igor has designed and built about 40 objects for various purposes in Perm and the Perm Territory, including shopping centers. Even while he was under investigation, he managed to improve the square, the embankment and the whole street near the local history museum in Dobryanka.

In the 1990s, Igor got acquainted with the Bible. He was impressed by its inner consistency and fulfilled prophecies. This prompted him to become a Christian. Speaking in court, Igor said: "You would have known what I was 25 years ago, before I became Jehovah's Witness. That's when I needed to be held accountable. I have completely changed because of my relationship with God. Previously, in my hometown, neighbors were shocked only when they saw me. Until recently, they were shocked that the truth can change a person for the better. And now they are shocked that I face such a monstrous sentence, as if I were an incorrigible useless person.

In 2002, Igor got married, he has a son and a daughter of school age. In court, the believer emphasized: "I have always taught my children to be kind, to be honest, to respect the views of other people, they grow up to be excellent citizens, they have deep respect for parents and society."

Igor's relatives, friends and colleagues hoped to the last that the believer would be acquitted. The guilty verdict came as a surprise to them.

Case History

In September 2018, searches were carried out in the homes of believers in Perm and surrounding cities. After three days in the temporary detention facility, Igor Turik and Viktor Kuchkov were placed under house arrest. Shortly before that, the FSB opened a criminal case against them and Boris Burylov. As it turned out, the special services tapped their phones and conducted covert surveillance. Later, 2 more defendants appeared in the case - Alexander Inozemtsev and Yuri Vaag. Turik and Kuchkov spent more than three months under house arrest. In December 2020, the case was submitted to the Industrial District Court of Perm for consideration by Judge Viktor Podyniglazov. In April 2021, the prosecutor requested 9 years in prison for Turik, 7 years in prison for Burylov and Kuchkov, and 4 years in prison for Vaag and Inozemtsev. In May 2021, the court sentenced the believers to suspended sentences ranging from 2.5 to 7 years. In August 2021, the appeal upheld the verdict, and 9 months later, the cassation approved this decision.