Name: Korol Aleksandr Nikolayevich
Date of Birth: February 14, 1991
Current status: charges withdrawn
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility

Biography

On July 13, 2020 in the Voronezh region law enforcement officers conducted the most massive raid against Jehovah's Witnesses in the history of modern Russia. Searches were conducted at more than 80 addresses, dozens of civilians were detained and taken to interrogations. One of them was Alexander Korol, who was beaten and tortured. What do we know about him?

Alexander was born into a religious family in 1991 in the village of Krasnoselsky, Krasnodar region. Alexander's father, Nikolai, works as a slinger; together with his wife Olga and daughter Elena, he grows vegetables in the greenhouse.

As a child, Alexander liked to study mechanisms, make wood, fish and ride a bike. After school, he tried himself in different professions: upholsterer of furniture, edger and assembler of cabinet furniture. Currently he works as a janitor in kindergarten, in his spare time he is engaged in repair of digital equipment.

His father's parents were exiled to Siberia, where they got acquainted with the Bible and began to teach Christian principles to their children and later to their grandchildren. His grandmother on his mother's line took the Christian way back in 1975. Alexander himself was baptized in 2006.

In 2010, Sasha married Polina, who from early childhood was interested in spiritual things. Together spouses love to spend time with friends, relax in nature, ride bikes, collect puzzles, cook food, play board games. Polina is fond of photography. Alexander learns to play the piano, loves to sing.

After the search, the spouses had to move, as it was emotionally difficult to stay in the same place of residence. Alexander and Polina are worried that they may lose their jobs, as their criminal record does not allow them to work in children's institutions (Polina works at the Center for Children's Creativity). Alexander is included in the notorious list of Rosfinmonitoring - a list of persons, according to the authorities, involved in extremist activities. Based on this list, his bank accounts were blocked.

Relatives and family friends believe that criminal prosecution of a believer is unfair.

Case History

In one day, July 13, 2020, 110 searches were carried out in 7 settlements of the Voronezh Region — a record-breaking operation against Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia. Five believers reported torture by the security forces. Ten men aged 24 to 56 years were charged by the Investigative Committee with organizing extremist activities and sent them to prison, where most of them were held for almost 5 months. The events in Voronezh caused a wide public outcry: the EU countries, as well as the United Kingdom and the United States, expressed regret and bewilderment in connection with the incident. The believers themselves do not admit guilt in extremism and emphasize that, as Christians, they respect the authorities and peacefully practice their religion in accordance with constitutional law. Consideration of the case in court began in December 2021. Believers face up to 10 years in prison.