Updated: March 28, 2024
Name: Zyablov Yevgeniy Anatolyevich
Date of Birth: March 9, 1977
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.3 (1), 282.2 (2)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 126 day in a pre-trial detention, 173 day Under house arrest
Current restrictions: Recognizance agreement
Sentence: punishment in the form of 5 years of imprisonment, with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to participation in the work of public religious organizations and associations for a term of 4 years, with restriction of liberty for a term of 1 year, a sentence of imprisonment shall be considered suspended with a probationary period of 4 years

Biography

Yevgeny Zyablov ended up in jail in 2018 because of his faith. For several years he was forced to fight for his right to freedom of religion in court.

Yevgeny was born in March 1977 in Magadan. Since childhood, he loves sports - he was engaged in skiing, wrestling and bodybuilding. He has many awards and certificates for sports achievements. His hobby is going to the gym.

After school, Yevgeniy received the profession of an auto mechanic. He works as a driver in an orphanage.

Since childhood, Eugene thought about the life of death, dreaming that mom and dad always remained young and did not die. So when he began to study the Bible, he was impressed by the teaching that heaven would be on earth and no one would die. Eugene began his active spiritual quest after serving in the army, when he consciously came to faith in the Creator. In 2004, he embarked on the Christian path.

In 2017, Yevgeniy married Anna, whom he had known for more than ten years. During the criminal prosecution, they had a son with special needs. Yevgeniy also has an adult daughter, with whom he maintains a warm relationship, despite the fact that she does not share his religious views.

Yevgeny's relatives, friends and employees at work are shocked by the criminal prosecution, because they know him only from the positive side and do not understand how a person can be judged for reading the Bible.

Case History

After a series of searches in Magadan in May 2018, Konstantin Petrov, Yevgeny Zyablov and Sergey Yerkin were placed in a pre-trial detention center. On the same day in Khabarovsk, Ivan Puyda was searched. He was arrested and then taken 1600 km away to the Magadan pre-trial detention center. The believers spent two to four months behind bars, and then were placed under house arrest. In March 2019, the FSB conducted another series of searches. The number of defendants in the case later reached 13, including six women, including the elderly. The investigator regarded the holding of peaceful worship services as organizing the activities of an extremist organization, participating in it and financing it. In almost four years of investigation, the case against 13 believers grew to 66 volumes. It went to court in March 2022. At the hearings, it became clear that the case was based on the testimony of a secret witness - an FSB informant who kept secret records of peaceful worship. In March 2024, the believers were given suspended sentences from 3 to 7 years.