Name: Semenov Dmitriy Ivanovich
Date of Birth: January 15, 1984
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1.1)
Current restrictions: suspended sentence
Sentence: punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 4 years with restriction of liberty for a term of 1 year, a sentence of imprisonment shall be considered conditional with a probationary period of 4 years

Biography

Dmitriy Semenov, who acted as a witness in the case against another believer, after a while he himself found himself under investigation. According to law enforcement officers, Dmitriy and his wife Nadezhda “inclined” the residents of their city to study the Bible.

Dmitriy was born in 1984 in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Kamchatska Territory). He has a younger sister. Their parents are retired. As a child, Dmitriy was fond of sailing, modeling, collecting foreign coins, and loved to go hiking.

After school, Dmitriy graduated from the Kamchatka State University named after Vitus Bering, where he received a degree in applied mathematics and computer science.

Dmitriy's parents from early childhood instilled in the boy a love of reading the Bible. But faith in God in his heart was strengthened during his studies at the university. There the theory of evolution was taught as a proven fact. Dmitriy, however, recalls: “When we built various models, for example, the development of animal populations, I saw how everything is interconnected, that this could not be the result of evolution.” After graduating from university, Dmitriy decided to take the Christian path.

Guided by peace-loving Christian convictions, Dmitriy took advantage of the right to undergo alternative civilian service instead of military service. He worked in Yekaterinburg at the Uraltransmash plant. The first months — as a system administrator, and then transferred to the design bureau of general civil production, to the department of engineering calculations, where he could work in his specialty and took part in the design of trams.

In Yekaterinburg, Dmitriy met his future wife, Nadezhda. They got married in 2010. The couple loves to cook, walk and ride bikes together. Dmitriy works as a programmer, and Nadezhda works as a merchandiser in a chain of stores. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, playing the guitar and, as before, loves to go hiking.

The persecution for their faith became stressful for Dmitriy and his family. Spouses can only move around the city. Due to these restrictions, Dmitriy's planned trip to Yekaterinburg for treatment turned out to be questionable. Co-workers are worried about Dmitriy and are ready to provide him with all possible assistance.

The parents of Dmitriy and Nadezhda are worried about their children, because for the criminal offenses charged to the spouses, they face real long prison terms.

Case History

In September 2021, the apartment of Dmitriy and Nadezhda Semenov was searched. A criminal case had been initiated against them because of their faith. According to the Investigative Committee, the couple encouraged a resident of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy “to participate in the activity of an extremist organization.” In June 2022, the couple’s case went to court. The charges were based on the testimony of a woman who expressed a desire to study the Bible with the Semenovs and later began to cooperate with the FSB. In November 2022, the court gave Dmitriy and Nadezhda a 4-year suspended sentence for talking about the Bible. The court of appeal upheld the verdict.