Roman Gridasov

Name: Gridasov Roman Aleksandrovich

Date of Birth: September 16, 1978

Current status: who has served the main sentence

Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)

Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 92 day in a pre-trial detention, 587 day in prison

Sentence: punishment in the form of 2 years of imprisonment to be served in a penal colony of general regime; with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to management and participation in the work of public organizations for a period of 5 years, with restriction of freedom for a period of 1 year

Biography

Roman Gridasov is one of six Saratov residents who served a court-ordered sentence for believing in Jehovah God. On July 29, 2021, he left the colony.

Roman was born in 1978 in Saratov. He has a younger sister. In his youth, he was fond of sports - he was engaged in running, biathlon, cycling, wrestling. He often went hiking. After school, he received the specialty of technician-technologist-builder. He worked in the field of construction and finishing works. In his spare time, he plays the accordion, still loves nature and travel, especially in the Caucasus.

Roman's wife's name is Elvira, they got married in 2011. Elvira sews clothes and loves to make gifts for friends with her own hands.

When Roman began to study the Holy Scriptures, he saw how the Bible changes people's behavior and thinking for the better. Oddly enough, it was Christian beliefs that served as the reason for the fact that a criminal case was opened against Roman. The court found the believer guilty of extremism without evidence and sentenced him to 2 years in prison. Relatives were shocked that he was considered a criminal only because of his convictions - nothing but talking about the Bible, Roman was not charged.

Case History

In September 2019, Judge Dmitry Larin immediately sent 6 Saratov residents to prison for a term of 2 to 3.5 years just for reading the Bible, singing songs and praying. Since 2017, security forces have been conducting covert surveillance of believers. In the summer of 2018, their homes were searched with banned literature planted. While the investigation was underway, they had to go to a pre-trial detention center, under house arrest and under recognizance not to leave. A year later, despite the absence of victims in the case, the believers were found guilty. Upon arrival at the Orenburg colony, 5 out of 6 convicted believers were beaten by the staff of the institution. Mahammadiev was hospitalized, and the rest were placed in a punishment cell for a while. Saratov prisoners of conscience have mastered various professions in prison. In May 2020, Mahammadiev and Bazhenov were stripped of their Russian citizenship and, after their release, deported from Russia. All 6 believers have already served their sentences. In September 2022, the cassation court dismissed the complaint, and the verdict and the appellate ruling were unchanged.

Timeline