Poveshchenko Yevgeniy

Name: Poveshchenko Yevgeniy Sergeyevich
Date of Birth: January 23, 1969
Current status: defendant
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility
Current restrictions: recognizance agreement

Biography

Yevgeniy Poveshchenko, a resident of the city of Kingisepp, became one of the defendants in a criminal case whose home was searched by security forces in February 2023 because of faith in Jehovah God.

Yevgeniy was born in January 1969 in the city of Slavyansk, Ukraine. As a child, he loved skiing, martial arts and basketball. His father was in the military, and his mother was an English language teacher.

After school, Yevgeniy received a higher military education, served in the army and retired with the rank of major. He has lived in many places: in Crimea, Georgia, and Chukotka, as well as in Murmansk, Cherepovets, Gatchina, Saint Petersburg and Kingisepp. Yevgeniy is an entrepreneur who cares for his wife and two children.

In the early 2000s, Yevgeniy became interested in the Bible. After comparing what he read with what he saw around him, he realized that this book can be trusted, and in 2007 he decided to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses and live according to Bible principles. Back then, the believer never imagined that he would be subjected to criminal prosecution for his beliefs.

Case History

At the end of February 2023, 7 searches were carried out in the cities of Kingisepp and Slantsy (Leningrad Region). The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under an extremist article against Kirill Khabrik, Igor Zhmyrev and other unidentified persons. Charges were also brought against Andrey Morozov, Sergey Ryabokon and Yevgeniy Poveshchenko. The latter was put under a preventive measure in the form of a written undertaking not to leave, and the rest were placed in a pre-trial detention center, where they spent from 9 to 11 months. At the end of March, searches were again carried out in Kingisepp. 11 other believers were interrogated. Five more people became defendants in the criminal case: Miroslav Sabodash, Igor Shevlyuga, Tatyana Stepanova, Aleksandr Vaganov and Konstantsiya Vovk. They were placed in a temporary detention facility, but soon everyone was released, except for Igor Shevlyuga, who spent a month in a pre-trial detention center. In May 2024, the case went to court.
Timeline