Khachaturyan Garegin

Name: Khachaturyan Garegin Benikovich
Date of Birth: July 28, 1967
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 1 day in a temporary detention facility, 777 day in a pre-trial detention, 50 day in prison
Sentence: Punishment in the form of 6 years and 6 months of imprisonment in a general regime correctional colony, with deprivation of the right to engage in organizational activities in public and religious associations and organizations, for a period of 5 years, with restriction of liberty for a period of 1 year

Biography

The life of a carpenter from Novocherkassk, Garegin Khachaturian, changed dramatically when he was imprisoned in August 2022 for his faith in God.

Garegin was born in July 1967 in the mountain village of Karachinar (Azerbaijan). His parents and one of his four sisters are no longer alive. As a child, the boy helped his parents with the housework, herding sheep.

After receiving secondary education, Garegin began working as a carpenter. He manufactures furniture, window frames, décor elements. At the same time, he is engaged in the repair of residential premises.

Garegin leads an active lifestyle: he likes to walk and run, play football and ride a bicycle. He likes chess and backgammon. He is proficient in the art of playing the Azerbaijani tar.

For some time Garegin lived in Poland and Germany. In 1995 he moved to Russia and settled in Novocherkassk.

Garegin was the first in the family to start reading the Bible. In it, he found answers to many questions. He was also touched by the sincere love that Jehovah's Witnesses showed for each other. In 1994, he embarked on the Christian path. His younger sister soon followed suit.

In 2008, Garegin married Ksenia. She works as a speech therapist in a kindergarten. The couple strives to apply what they learn from the Bible to their lives and raised their son, Timothy, according to Bible principles.

Garegin's relatives worry about him and provide all possible assistance to the family.

Case History

One early August morning of 2022, searches were carried out at the homes of local Jehovah’s Witnesses in Novocherkassk and the village of Grushevskaya. Half an hour before the searches, the Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against Gevorg Yeritsyan, Garegin Khachaturyan and Lyubov Galitsyna on charges for extremism. The men were interrogated and placed in a pretrial detention center. A few days later, Lyubov also ended up behind bars. She spent more than a year in a pretrial detention center, after which she was placed under house arrest. Hearings in the case began in September 2023. In June 2024, the court sentenced Lyubov Galitsyna to 2 years and 3 months, Gevorg Yeritsyan to 6 years and 2 months, and Garegin Khachaturyan to 6.5 years imprisonment for their religion. The court considered the term imposed on Galitsyna as already served. Three months later, the court of appeal upheld the verdict.
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