Updated: April 23, 2024
Name: Morlang Tatyana Yuriyevna
Date of Birth: May 7, 1957
Current status: Defendant
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility
Current restrictions: Recognizance agreement

Biography

Applying Bible teachings helped Tatiana Morlang from Gryazi to improve relations with her family and reunite with her husband several years after the divorce. However, in November 2020, a criminal case was opened against her under an "extremist" article only because of her faith in Jehovah God.

Tatyana was born in May 1957 in a family of ordinary workers. Mom was a quiet, wise woman, she believed in God. Father, on the contrary, was a staunch atheist. After school, Tatyana left her father's house and went to her aunt in Vladivostok, where she studied and got married. There she had a son and a daughter.

After 20 years, the whole family returned to their parents' home. Then the son became actively interested in the Bible. Tatyana and her husband did not approve of this activity, demanding even to throw out the Bible. At the same time, they noticed positive changes in their son: he became more obedient, more balanced, abandoned bad habits, changed his social circle, began to dress beautifully and neatly. The grandmother defended her grandson, advising Tatyana not to scold him, but to figure out what he believed in. Later, an elderly woman joined her grandson in a study of the Scriptures.

Time passed, and Tatiana was left completely alone: the son left and later married, her father and mother died, the daughter got married, and Tatiana herself divorced her husband on her own initiative. After a while, she came across religious literature that her son had left. What she read there deeply affected her, and for the next 6 years she carefully researched the Holy Scriptures. Especially in her heart the knowledge about the role of wife and mother resonated. This helped her reconcile with her husband and marry him again in 2016. The husband supports Tatiana in everything, and they are very happy together. Subsequently, the daughter also became interested in the Bible.

Unfortunately, on November 16, 2020, at 6 a.m., the peace of the Morlangs was disturbed: seven security officials, two of whom were with machine guns, broke into their house. After the search, Tatyana spent 2 days in a temporary detention center. However, the incident did not embitter the believer. She and all her relatives hope for a fair resolution of the situation.

Case History

In November 2020, officers of the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on extremism, and the next day, accompanied by riot police, conducted a series of searches at 9 addresses of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the town of Gryazi. Five peaceful believers, including two pensioners, were detained and sent to a temporary detention facility. Natalia Perekatiy, Tatyana Morlang and Svetlana Vyrezkova were released 2 days later on their own recognizance, and Yevgeny Reshetnikov and Sergey Kretov were sent to a pre-trial detention center. In June 2021, two more believers were detained as part of the same criminal case: Aleksandr Popras and Valeriy Khmil. No preventive measure was chosen against Popras, and Khmil was placed under house arrest for 57 days. Kretov and Reshetnikov spent about 8 months in a pre-trial detention center and 4 months under house arrest. In November 2023, the court began considering the case.