Serebryakova Lubov

Name: Serebryakova Lubov Nikolayevna
Date of Birth: December 10, 1950
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Current restrictions: suspended sentence
Sentence: punishment in the form of 4 years of imprisonment, the punishment is considered conditional with a probationary period of 3 years, with restriction of liberty for a period of 10 months

Biography

A widow from Novokuznetsk, Lubov Serebryakova, suffered two heart attacks. The pensioner's health condition worsened because of criminal prosecution for talking about God in a circle of friends. In 2023, she was given a 4-year suspended sentence because of her religion. Speaking in court, the believer said: "The motive of all my actions is related to religious beliefs based solely on peacefully following the example of Jesus Christ."

Lubov was born in December 1950 in Novokuznetsk (Kemerovo region). She grew up in a large family—she was the fourth of five children. One brother and sister are no longer alive. As a child, Lubov was engaged in speed skating, basketball and volleyball.

After graduating from the All-Union Institute of Finance and Economics, Lubov began working as an economist in the material and technical supply department of the Gidrougol association. She retired in 2005. Lubov's husband died in 1999. The woman has two sons and four grandchildren.

In 2001, Lubov began to study the Bible and 9 months later decided to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Lubov told how the criminal prosecution affected her life: "The investigation, familiarization with the case materials and 21 court hearings could not but affect my health. In August 2022, I was in the hospital for 8 days in the emergency cardiology department."

Elderly

Case History

In the summer of 2021, searches were conducted at homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Novokuznetsk. A year later, the Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against pensioner Lubov Serebryakova, and she was placed under a recognizance agreement. The investigation found the believer guilty of extremism for attending meetings for worship of Jehovah’s Witnesses and talking about the Bible. Worries about the criminal prosecution made her already poor health even worse. In August 2022, the case went to court. About a year later, the believer was given a 4-year suspended sentence, although the prosecutor had requested a year less. The court of appeal upheld this verdict.
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