Name: Sedova Svetlana Grigoriyevna
Date of Birth: June 8, 1969
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Current restrictions: recognizance agreement
Sentence: 5 years of imprisonment, with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to participation in the work of a public religious organization, for a term of 4 years, with restriction of liberty for a term of 1 year, the punishment in the form of imprisonment shall be considered suspended with a probationary period of 5 years

Biography

On November 10, 2018, in Khabarovsk, 30 riot policemen broke into a café where a friendly party was taking place. After breaking down the doors, they staged hours of mass interrogation of those present, including minors, with the seizure of personal property and fingerprinting. Criminal cases were opened against several party participants in connection with their religion. Among them was 49-year-old Svetlana Sedova. What do we know about her?

Svetlana was born in 1969 in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. She has a younger brother. Her father died when Svetlana was only 3 years old, she lost her mother at the age of 14. Such an early death of both parents did not break the girl - immediately after school she went to work at a garment factory and three years later was considered the best young worker. Later she was engaged in cleaning offices, mastered the skills of a housekeeper.

Even as a teenager, Svetlana came to the realization that our planet and the Universe should have an intelligent Creator. Svetlana's husband passed away early, but she did not despair because of the next death of a loved one. She raised two sons and a daughter alone. The eldest daughter Julia works as a hairdresser and draws portraits well. Teenage sons love to ride bicycles. Often the whole family can go on a trip and enjoy joint communication. Svetlana's favorite hobby is flower growing.

Svetlana's children are very worried about her criminal prosecution for their faith. Her brother, who does not share her religious views, is trying to understand what is happening. "Why are decent people persecuted?" he wonders.

Case History

Peaceful residents of Khabarovsk, Nikolay Polevodov, Stanislav Kim, Vitaliy and Tatyana Zhuk, Svetlana Sedova and Maya Karpushkina came under investigation after riot police invaded a friendly party in a café in November 2018. Three men were sent to a pretrial detention center, and later placed under house arrest. As a result, the Investigative Committee charged the men with organizing the activity of an extremist organization, and the women with participating in it. The only reason is their faith in Jehovah God and discussing the Bible with friends. The court of first instance took 14 months to determine the groundlessness of the charges, and the case was returned to the prosecutor’s office. In December 2021, it went to court again. In June 2024, Polevodov, Zhuk and Kim were sent to a penal colony for 8.5 years, 8 years and 4 months and 8 years and 2 months, respectively. Tatyana Zhuk and Svetlana Sedova were given a 5-year suspended sentence, and Maya Karpushkina 4 years. Kim and Polevodov simultaneously were defendants in another criminal case for their faith and defended their beliefs in another court.