Sazonov Andrey

Name: Sazonov Andrey Vladimirovich
Date of Birth: August 15, 1980
Current status: defendant
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1), 282.3 (1)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 18 day in a pre-trial detention, 177 day Under house arrest
Current restrictions: prohibition of certain actions

Biography

On February 6, 2019, in the city of Urai (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area), Andrey Sazonov was detained during mass searches in the homes of believers. What is known about him?

Andrey was born in 1980 in Moscow. He graduated from the Moscow State Textile University with a degree in engineering in the field of industrial thermal power engineering. In 2002, after the wedding with Victoria, the couple decided to move to Uray. Andrey's sister lives in Moscow.

In Uray in 2002, Andrey got a job at the company "Urayteploenergia" as a mechanic and has been working on it to this day. In recent years, he has held the position of First Deputy General Director. The management characterizes Andrey Sazonov positively. He is a peaceful, non-confrontational person, gets along well with employees. Andrey has been fond of football and hockey since childhood, so he often played in futsal competitions for the Urayteploenergia team, as well as for the Urai hockey team. His wife Victoria, a translator and English teacher, shares Andrey's passion for hockey.

Back in the 1990s, Andrey decided that serving God would occupy an important place in his life and the life of his family. The couple are happy to invite friends to visit to sing and dance together. The couple has a son and a daughter. Andrey's friends and colleagues worry about him, knowing full well the absurdity of the accusations of extremism. Those of them who believe in God do not stop praying for him.

Case History

In January 2019, Andrey Sazonov, the father of two minor children and deputy general director of an energy company, faced persecution for his faith. The investigator of the Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against him for organizing extremist activity. After a search and interrogation, the believer was placed in a pretrial detention center for 20 days, then placed under house arrest, and 6 months later under a ban on certain actions. Later, Andrey Sazonov was also charged with financing the activity of an extremist organization. The court considered the case from June 2020 to December 2021. As a result, Sazonov was sentenced to a fine of 500,000 rubles. The court of appeal overturned this decision and sent the case for a new trial to the same court, but with a different panel of judges. In June 2022, the second hearing began, and in October 2023, the court imposed a fine of 450,000 rubles on the believer. In January 2024, a court of appeal overturned the verdict for a second and sent the case back for reconsideration.
Timeline