Veselov Mikhail

Name: Veselov Mikhail Nikolayevich
Date of Birth: December 18, 1968
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 162 day in a pre-trial detention
Current restrictions: detention center
Sentence: imprisonment for a term of 6 years with serving in a general regime penal colony, with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to leadership and participation in the work of public religious organizations for a term of 5 years, with restriction of freedom for a term of 1 year
Currently held in: Detention Center No.1 for Voronezh Region

Veselov Mikhail Nikolayevich, born 1968, Detention Center No.1 for Voronezh Region, ul. Zhelyabova, 56, Voronezh, Voronezh Region, 394030

Letters of support can be sent by regular mail or through the F-pismo system. To pay for service with the card of a foreign bank use Prisonmail.

Note: discussing topics related to criminal prosecution is not allowed in letters; languages other than Russian will not pass.

Biography

On July 13, 2020 more than 110 searches of Jehovah's Witnesses' homes were conducted in the Voronezh region. Ten men aged 24 to 56 years were sent to the pre-trial detention center. One of them is Mikhail Veselov.

Mikhail was born in 1968 in Komsomolsk (Ivanovo region). He has a younger brother. As a child he was fond of radio electronics, basketball and fishing. He graduated from the university as an engineer. Worked by profession, and recently - in the field of construction. He likes fishing and gardening.

In 1995, Mikhail married Olga. A month after the wedding, the newlyweds were interested in biblical teachings, which they were told about by their relative. The young man was impressed by the consistency of Scripture with science, and his wife had no doubts about the existence of God before. In 1996, the family began their journey to Christianity. For some time the family lived in Lugansk, and they moved to Voronezh because of the conflict in Donbass in 2014.

Olga is a housewife, taking care of her old mother. She is fond of learning French. The Veselovs have an adult daughter, Julia. Parents instilled love for the Bible in the girl from birth, and she still draws guidance from it to this day. Julia is fond of volleyball, cooking, writing poems.

Due to criminal prosecution Olga has lost her appetite, suffers from insomnia. "Now there is no sense of security that has always been when my husband was here," she shasays. All concerns about the family's material needs, including payment for rented housing, layed on Mikhail's shoulders. Now that he is in jail, the family has serious difficulties.

Case History

On a single day, July 13, 2020, 110 searches were carried out in seven localities of the Voronezh Region — a record-breaking operation against Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia. Five believers reported being tortured by law enforcement officers. The Investigative Committee charged 10 men (then aged 24 to 56) with organizing extremist activity and sent them to pretrial detention, where most remained for nearly 5 months. The events in Voronezh sparked widespread public outcry: EU countries, as well as the United Kingdom and the United States, expressed regret and dismay over what had happened. The believers deny any guilt in extremism and emphasize that, as Christians, they respect the authorities and peacefully practice their faith in accordance with their constitutional rights. The trial began in December 2021. Nearly 4 years later, the believers were given various punishments — ranging from a 6-year suspended sentence to 7 years in a penal colony.
Timeline
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