Buglak Irina

Name: Buglak Irina Gennadiyevna
Date of Birth: January 25, 1975
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Time spent in prison: 1 day in a temporary detention facility, 179 day in a pre-trial detention, 107 day Under house arrest
Current restrictions: suspended sentence
Sentence: punishment in the form of 2 years 6 months of imprisonment, with restriction of liberty for a period of 7 months, punishment in the form of imprisonment shall be considered conditional with a probationary period of 2 years 6 months

Biography

In April 2019, searches were carried out in the homes of believers in the city of Partizansk. A day later, economist Irina Buglak was arrested and sent to the detention center for almost six months. She was charged with "a serious crime against the foundations of the constitutional order" only because of her religious views.

Irina was born in 1975 in the city of Partizansk, where she spent her entire life. As a child, she was fond of chess, athletics and karate. She always studied diligently—she graduated from high school with a gold medal, then she graduated from a university with a red diploma and a degree in finance and credit. Irina has an elder brother and two adult children.

Irina worked as an accountant, librarian and teacher's assistant. For almost twenty years she has been seriously studying the Bible which serves as a guide in her daily life.

Irina's husband and mother, who do not share her religious views, believe that she did nothing wrong. Irina experienced stress being next to her mother during the search, detention and interrogation.

Case History

A criminal case was initiated against economist Irina Buglak for organizing the activity of an extremist organization. She was detained in the spring of 2019 after searches were conducted. The believer spent six months in a detention center, then three and a half months under house arrest. According to the court order for Irina’s arrest, “the person was caught right after committing the crime.” The investigator of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation considered praying and discussing the Bible to be a “serious crime.” In January 2020, the case went to court. After a year of hearings, it was returned to the prosecutor’s office. A new trial in the same court began in October 2021. The prosecutor requested that Irina Buglak receive a six-year-and-five-month suspended sentence. In June 2023, the court gave her a two-year-and-six-month suspended sentence.
Timeline
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