Name: Kozhushko Andrey Fedorovich
Date of Birth: November 6, 1975
Current status: defendant
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Current restrictions: obligation to appear

Biography

Andrey Kozhushko, who is group II disabled person, faced criminal prosecution for his faith in April 2023, when the house where he lives with his mother was searched.

Andrey was born in November 1975 in the village of Georgiyevka (Kazakhstan). In 1985, he moved with his mother to the Russian village of Taezhnyi (urban district of the closed city of Lesnoy, Sverdlovsk Region).

As a child, Andrey liked skiing, played chess; in the summer he liked to go fishing and picking mushrooms in the forest. After school, he trained as a car mechanic. The young man was not called for military service due to his disability.

Reading the Bible, Andrey found that it explains in a simple and understandable language the origin of the world and the purpose of human life, and he also liked the Bible teaching that God will put an end to injustice and evil. In 1994, he and his mother became Jehovah's Witnesses. He still enjoys reading Bible stories about the faithful servants of God from the past.

Andrey is into computer technology and cars. He also enjoys watching informative videos about animals. Due to his disability, he cannot work in his profession.

The criminal prosecution changed the lives of Andrey Kozhushko and his retired mother. The stress they suffered has particularly affected her health.

Case History

In March 2023, a criminal case was initiated against the peaceful citizens of Lesnoy, Pavel Loshchinin and Andrey Bannykh, as well as Andrey Kozhushko who lives in the village of Tayezhnyy. For discussing the Bible together, the investigation suspects the believers of “organizing the study of extremist materials and other religious literature”. In April, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation conducted searches at 6 addresses of Jehovah’s Witnesses as part of this case. Andrey Bannykh is one of the believers whose complaint was satisfied by the ECHR, declaring the prosecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia unlawful. The case went to court in May 2024.