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From left to right: Brothers Yevgeniy Grinenko and Sergey Kobelev and Sister Svetlana Yefremova

MAY 19, 2022 | UPDATED: FEBRUARY 6, 2023
RUSSIA

UPDATE—CONVICTION | Faith on Trial in Lesozavodsk

UPDATE—CONVICTION | Faith on Trial in Lesozavodsk

On February 3, 2023, the Lesozavodskiy District Court of the Primorye Territory convicted Brothers Yevgeniy Grinenko and Sergey Kobelev and Sister Svetlana Yefremova. Yevgeniy and Sergey each received a suspended prison sentence of six years. Svetlana received a suspended prison sentence of three years. They are not required to go to prison at this time.

Time Line

  1. May 12, 2020

    A criminal case was initiated against Yevgeniy for organizing the activities of an “extremist” organization. FSB officers were dispatched to search the homes of Yevgeniy and Sergey. Other officers went to Sergey’s workplace and detained him. He was interrogated for four hours and released. Yevgeniy was also detained and placed in a temporary holding facility

  2. May 14, 2020

    The court ordered that Yevgeniy be held in a pretrial detention center

  3. May 29, 2020

    Authorities transferred Yevgeniy to a pretrial detention center in Spassk-Dalny

  4. July 8, 2020

    The court released Yevgeniy from pretrial detention and placed him under house arrest

  5. February 6, 2021

    Yevgeniy was released from house arrest but ordered not to leave the area

  6. March 8, 2021

    A criminal case was officially initiated against Sergey for participating in the activities of an “extremist” organization

  7. April 6, 2021

    Svetlana was added to the case

Profiles

Our faithful brothers and sisters set encouraging examples of courageously entering “into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations.”—Acts 14:22.