Name: Britvin Sergey Alekseyevich
Date of Birth: August 18, 1965
Current status: who has served the main sentence
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 656 day in a pre-trial detention, 254 day Under house arrest, 345 day in prison
Sentence: punishment in the form of 4 years of imprisonment with serving a sentence in a correctional colony of general regime with deprivation of the right to hold positions related to the exercise of the functions of a representative of the authorities and organizational and administrative powers for a term of 3 years, with restriction of liberty for a term of 1 year

Biography

After the storming of the houses of believers in July 2018, Sergey Britvin ended up in a pre-trial detention center, where he ended up spending almost 2 years. He was tried and found guilty of organizing extremist activities, appointing 4 years in a general regime colony. In March 2021, he was taken to a Novosibirsk colony.

Sergey was born in 1965 in the city of Belovo (Kemerovo region). Since childhood, he was fond of gymnastics and other sports. Sergey is a crane operator and driver by profession, worked as a BelAZ driver. Currently, he is a disabled person of group II.

In 1992, Sergey got married, and in 1995 he began to study the Bible, as he was interested in the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. Years later, his wife Natalia also became interested in the Holy Scriptures. She was particularly moved by the positive effects of faith on her husband.

Sergey's daughter, son-in-law, grandson, brothers and sister do not share his religious beliefs, but they are outraged by what happened to him. According to the believer's relatives, it is unacceptable to imprison people just because they peacefully study the Bible at home.

Case History

In January 2021, the sentence came into force for two miners from the city of Berezovsky - 4 years each in a general regime colony due to the fact that they profess the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Both have families. At the time of Vadim Levchuk’s arrest, his son was a minor. Sergey Britvin has a disability group II. The persecution began in July 2018, when a wave of searches took place in the city, after which the Central District Court of Kemerovo placed both in a pre-trial detention center. While the investigation and trial were going on, the believers spent almost 2 years in prison. The case of Britvin and Levchuk was investigated by the FSB. No casualties or damage were identified. The believers were found guilty of organizing the activities of an extremist organization only because they communicated with friends on spiritual topics. The state prosecutor recommended that the court appoint 6.5 years in prison for each. The believers pleaded not guilty, insisting that practicing their religion is not prohibited by law. On December 30, 2021, they were released from the colony, having served their sentence in full.
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