Yakku Yevgeniy

Updated: April 24, 2024
Name: Yakku Yevgeniy Viktorovich
Date of Birth: February 22, 1980
Current status: who has served the main sentence
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1), 282.2 (1.1)
Time spent in prison: 1 day in a temporary detention facility
Sentence: penalty in the form of a fine of 780,000 rubles

Biography

In 2019, the security forces came with a search to a peaceful believer from Arkhangelsk, Yevgeniy Yakku. The investigative actions lasted for about a year, then the court hearings began. The prosecutor asked for a sentence of 7.5 years in a general regime colony for the believer. In July 2021, the court found Yevgeniy guilty and ordered him to pay 850,000 rubles for Bible talks. All these events had a serious impact on the life of Yevgeniy and his family.

Yevgeniy was born in 1980 in the village of Sosnovets (Republic of Karelia). He has a younger sister. As a child, he was fond of tourism and fishing. As a teenager, Yevgeniy was impressed by the fulfillment of Bible prophecies. As a result, he decided that he would devote more time to studying the Bible and serving God.

Yevgeniy moved to Arkhangelsk to study and received a specialty as a teacher of labor and entrepreneurship. He worked as a regional sales representative for one of the local companies.

In 2007, Yevgeniy married Irina. The spouses love to travel together, they have many friends with whom they are often in nature.

The criminal prosecution caused a lot of grief in the Yakku family. Due to constant worries, Yevgeniy’s chronic illness worsened, his sleep was disturbed. Irina's health has deteriorated sharply — she suffers from a serious autoimmune disease. In April 2020, Yevgeniy’s mother suffered a stroke, and in November of the same year, his father died right in his son's arms.

Due to the investigative measures, the family also faced financial difficulties. Yevgeniy could not go to a new job due to the fact that they came to him with a search. The court arrested two cars of the believer. Later, Yevgeniy got a job as a janitor, but after a while he was fired from there without giving any reason. In April 2019, the believer was included in the list of extremists of Rosfinmonitoring. The last 4 months before the verdict, Yevgeniy worked as a janitor for a small salary, and his wife Irina worked as a cleaner to help her husband support the family financially.

Despite all these events, the Yakku couple try to maintain a positive attitude. They greatly appreciate the help and support that co-religionists have provided them throughout the persecution.

Case History

The criminal prosecution of Yevgeniy Yakku, an exemplary family man from Arkhangelsk, began in February 2019 - his house was searched, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against him. The believer was left without work, his accounts were blocked, cars were arrested. In May, after a year of surveillance of Kaleria Mamykina, a case was opened against her, the “corpus delicti” of which was talking about religion with friends at her home. After 7 months, the charges against her were dropped, in June 2021, without waiting for the restoration of her good name, Kaleria died of covid. Yakku’s case went to court in February 2020. The investigator accused Yevgeniy of allegedly continuing the activities of the LRO of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Arkhangelsk, which was not recognized as extremist. The believer sent complaints to the ECHR, and his wife to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The answer confirmed that Jehovah’s Witnesses have the right to practice their religion in groups. Despite this, in July 2021, the court sentenced the believer to a fine of 780,000 rubles. The Court of Appeal and Cassation upheld this decision.
Timeline