Case of Kopatskaya in Birobidzan

Case History

In February 2024, FSB officers conducted a search of the home of the family of Yelena Kopatskaya in Amurzet, Jewish Autonomous Region. Yelena, her husband, and her son were questioned as witnesses. In early October 2025, a criminal case was initiated against the believer for participating in the activity of an extremist organization. Yelena’s bank accounts were blocked, and the investigator required her to sign a recognizance agreement. In April 2026, the criminal case went to court.
Timeline

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    Case initiated Art. 282.2 (1.1)

    Ivan Nenko, an investigator of the Investigative Department for the city of Birobidzhan of the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Khabarovsk Territory and the Jewish Autonomous Region, opens a criminal case

    against unidentified persons under Part 1.1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (involvement of other persons in the activities of an extremist organization). A year later, it was merged with the case of Krushevsky and Artamonov.

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    Search Case initiated Art. 282.2 (1.1)

    In the village of Amurzet, the Kopatsky family is undergoing a five-hour search. FSB officers seize laptops, phones, tablets, flash cards, DVDs, notebooks and Bibles.

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    Interrogation

    The investigator interrogates Yelena Kopatskaya, her husband and eldest son as witnesses.

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    Case initiated Art. 282.2 (2)

    FSB investigator Captain of Justice Dmitry Yankin opens a criminal case against Yelena Kopatskaya for participating in religious meetings, expressed in joint discussion of the Bible, singing songs and praying.

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    Rosfinmonitoring

    Elena Kopatskaya's accounts were blocked, she was included in the list of extremists of Rosfinmonitoring.

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    Recognizance agreement
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    Case went to court

    The case against Yelena Kopathskaya goes to the Leninskiy District Court in Birobidzhan (Amurzet).

    Judge — Svetlana Anzhiyevskaya.

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    Hearing in a court of the first instance

    Prosecutor Yevgeniy Gavrilenko reads out the charges. Yelena Kopatskaya expresses her position. "Constitutional guarantees mean that the state provides me with the right and, accordingly, undertakes not to prosecute me for exercising it and allows me to decide for myself which religion to belong to, what to believe, and which religious practices to follow," says the believer.

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