Updated: March 28, 2024
Name: Ilinykh Vitaliy Vladimirovich
Date of Birth: August 11, 1974
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility
Current restrictions: Suspended sentence
Sentence: punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 2 years 6 months with restriction of liberty for a term of 8 months, a sentence of imprisonment shall be considered conditional with a probationary period of 2 years

Biography

Vitaliy Ilyinykh was prosecuted for his faith in the fall of 2019, a year later than his mother, Olga Opaleva. They were both accused of extremism and given suspended sentences for their beliefs.

Vitaliy was born in 1974. From childhood, he thought about why people die and what happens at death, but did not find an answer to his question. Spiritual search continued for many years, until in the mid-1990s he began to read the Bible, in which he found answers to all his questions. Vitaliy struggled with bad habits for three years, which helped him to break with a deep study of the Scriptures.

Vitaliy studied at the Higher Police School of Khabarovsk. He worked as an escort in the internal affairs bodies. Together with his wife Irina, he loves to relax in nature, enjoying the beautiful views of Primorye.

Thanks to the Bible, Vitaliy found the meaning of life and real friends, but he could not even think that because of this he would be subjected to criminal prosecution.

Case History

Vitaliy Ilinykh, a former police officer, overcame bad habits through his study of the Bible. However, for wanting to share his faith with others, he, following his mother, [Olga Opaleva] (/en/prisoners/opaleva.html), found himself under the yoke of criminal prosecution. Searches of the Ilinykhs took place twice: in February and October 2019. The investigator of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the Primorsky Territory, E. S. Marvanyuk, opened a criminal case against Vitaly Ilyinykh, charging him with organizing the activities of an extremist organization, and later mitigated the charge to participation in the activities of an extremist organization. Hearings in the Ussuriysk District Court began in December 2020 under the chairmanship of Judge Tatyana Pavlenko, and 4 months later the case was transferred to Judge Anna Zakharova. In April 2022, the court sentenced Vitaliy Ilinykh to 2.5 years of probation. This decision entered into force on July 28, 2022 after an appeal.