Updated: March 28, 2024
Name: Saakyan Karina Samvelovna
Date of Birth: October 2, 1965
Current status: charges withdrawn
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)

Biography

On December 12, 2019, the Investigative Committee opened criminal cases against 9 believers in Nevinnomyssk (Stavropol Territory). The youngest among them was Karina Sahakyan.

Karina was born in October 1965 in the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait. She has an elder brother and sister. Of Karina's parents, only her mother shared Karina's religious beliefs. Today, she, like her father, is no longer alive.

Since childhood, Karina loves to go to the mountains, is fond of knitting and growing roses. She worked as an announcer at the bus station, and for the last few years as a fitter at a measuring instrument factory.

In 1988, when the infamous Sumgait pogrom began, Karina's family had to flee to Kapan (Armenia), from where in 1993 due to military raids they left for Nevinnomyssk, where they still live.

In 1996, while studying the Bible with her sister, Karina learned that in the future there would be no wars and people would live in peace. This promise of God found a special response in her heart.

Today, Karina faces criminal prosecution for her hope. As a result, she began to have health problems - tormented by headaches and insomnia.

Relatives are very worried about Karina and live with a constant sense of anxiety, since her fellow believers in Russia are imprisoned for their religious beliefs. "A little noise outside the door makes you shudder. No one understands why this is happening to me, "says Karina herself.

Case History

In November 2018, mass searches took place in Nevinnomyssk. A year later, the Investigative Committee opened criminal cases under two “extremist” articles against Anatoly Boyko, Yevgenia Akhrameeva, Georgy and Tatyana Parfentyev, Nadezhda Konkova, Sergey Kuznetsov, Karina Sahakyan and Rimma Vashchenko (Rimma died under investigation at the age of 90). In May 2022, the investigator stopped the criminal prosecution against everyone except Sergey Kuznetsov, who is visually impaired, has hearing problems and has difficulty moving. In August 2022, the case went to court. After 5 months, the case was transferred to another judge. The prosecution was based on the testimony of a secret witness. In April 2023, the court sentenced the believer to 6 years of suspended imprisonment. In the summer of the same year, the appeal upheld the verdict. Shortly thereafter, Georgy Parfentiev died at the age of 76.