Name: Obizhestvit Tatyana Vitaliyevna
Date of Birth: January 7, 1962
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 1127 day Under house arrest
Current restrictions: suspended sentence
Sentence: punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 2 years, the imposed sentence shall be considered conditional with a probationary period of 2 years

Biography

In January 2020, law enforcement officers detained 15 of Jehovah's Witnesses in the city of Kazan. One of them, Tatyana Obizhestvit, spent 24 hours in a temporary detention center and was later placed under house arrest. In February 2023, the court gave her a two-year suspended sentence merely because of her faith.

Tatyana was born in January 1962 in the city of Kazan. As a child, she was fond of cutting and sewing clothes. She graduated from culinary school. She worked as a cook in a kindergarten and in a factory as a seamstress; before the criminal prosecution, she worked as a nurse in a hospital for more than 20 years. She retired but continued to work to support herself financially.

Tatyana's search for the source of happiness led her to study the Bible on her own, and she eventually decided to become a Christian.

Tatyana and her husband Aleksandr raised two daughters. The family enjoyed cooking together. Aleksandr died in 2010.

Tatyana studied a foreign language, devoted a lot of time to communicating with her granddaughter, and loved to travel. Criminal prosecution radically changed her life. Due to house arrest, she had to quit her job. The stress has caused her illnesses to worsen. Cheerfulness and optimism help her cope with what is happening.

Relatives and colleagues do not understand how Tatyana, who is such a peaceful and kind person, can be considered an extremist simply for praying and reading the Bible.

Case History

In January 2020, Tatyana Obizhestvit hosted guests at her home. Suddenly, law enforcement officers rushed in and searched her home. Then 15 people were taken for interrogation. Among them were two women over 80 years old and two children. A criminal case was initiated against Tatyana, as well as Andrey and Leysan Bochkarev under an article against extremism only because they believe in Jehovah God. The believers spent 2 days in a temporary detention facility, after which the women were placed under house arrest, and Andrey was placed in a pretrial detention center. In April 2021, the case went to court. Two secret witnesses testified in the case: one posing as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the other claiming that he had been “offered to join the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” In February 2023, Tatyana Obizhestvit and Leysan Bochkareva received suspended sentences of 2 and 2.5 years, respectively. Andrey Bochkarev was sentenced to 3 years and 1 month in a penal colony, but was released in the courtroom, since he actually served this term in a pretrial detention center. The courts of appeal and cassation upheld this decision.