Name: Fomashin Yevgeniy Yuriyevich
Date of Birth: June 20, 1977
Current status: who has served the main sentence
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 304 day in a pre-trial detention
Sentence: penalty in the form of a fine in the amount of 300,000 rubles
Currently held in: Detention Center No. 1 in Saratov Region
Address for correspondence: Fomashin Yevgeniy Yuriyevich, born 1977, SIZO No. 1 in Saratov Region, ul. Kutyakova, 105, Saratov, Russia, 410012

Biography

Yevgeniy Fomashin, who years ago was impressed by the biblical promise that God would remove all injustice from the earth, became a victim of criminal prosecution for his faith and love for the Bible. In March 2022, his house was searched, after that the believer was interrogated and thrown into jail.

Yevgeniy was born in June 1977 in the city of Balakovo, Saratov Region. He grew up as an obedient child and earned respect among friends. He skillfully settled disputes, for which he received the nickname "diplomat". As a child, Yevgeniy loved to observe animals and insects and to play chess.

After school, the young man graduated from a technical school and served in the army. Upon his return, he entered the Saratov State Technical University, where he received a degree in power supply engineering. In those years, Yevgeniy was fond of ballroom dancing.

The believer worked as a chief engineer for a large chemical company. Recently, he worked as an electrician of the 5th category for the repair of high-voltage transformers.

Yevgeniy is a caring son and father. Elderly parents are disabled and need his constant help. The believer has an adult student son with whom he has a warm, intimate relationship. In his free time, Yevgeniy goes fishing and plays the guitar.

Fomashin has always been a justice-sensitive individual, so the biblical promise of peace and harmony on earth deeply interested him. In 2013, he embarked on the Christian path. Some time later, Yevgeniy learned sign language to help people with disabilities.

Yevgeniy’s parents are worried about the criminal prosecution of their son and wonder why this kind, sympathetic and decent person should suffer. The events that took place seriously affected their already poor health.

Case History

In 2021, the residents of the city of Balakovo were under surveillance, their conversations were recorded. Considering peaceful discussions of the Bible to be extremism, the FSB initiated a criminal case and received permission to search the homes of the believers. A month later, security forces invaded eight homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Aleksey Bogatov, Vladimir Mavrin, Yevgeniy Fomashin, Andrey Murych and Sergey Tyurin were placed in a temporary holding facility after interrogations held at night. Two days later, they were transfered to a pretrial detention center 170 km from home. They spent 10 months in custody. In January 2023, the court ruled to change the preventive measure against the believers to a ban on certain actions. In November 2023, the district court announced the verdict: Aleksey Bogatov and Vladimir Mavrin a 6-yesr suspended sentence; Andrey Murych, Sergey Tyurin and Yevgeniy Fomashin fined 300,000 rubles.