Updated: March 28, 2024
Name: Kretov Sergey Pavlovich
Date of Birth: July 28, 1978
Current status: Defendant
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 1 day in a temporary detention facility, 240 day in a pre-trial detention, 123 day Under house arrest
Current restrictions: Recognizance agreement
Currently held in: Detention Centre No.1 for Lipetsk Region
Address for correspondence: Kretov Sergey Pavlovich, 1978 born, Detention Centre No.1 UFSIN of Russia for Lipetsk Region, ul. Kovaleva, vladenie 138, Lipetsk, Lipetsk Region, 398007.

Biography

A respectable family man and a peaceful worker from the city of Gryazi, Lipetsk region, Sergey Kretov has been living according to Christian principles for many years. In November 2020, his home was searched for 14 hours, the man was arrested and placed in a pre-trial detention center because of his faith.

Sergey was born in 1978 in Grozny (the Chechen Republic). He has 2 brothers and a sister. Their father was a military man, their mother worked as a teacher in a kindergarten, and later in oil and grain refineries.

Sergey graduated from a music school in the accordion class. He also attended a Morse code study club, and as a teenager he was engaged in kickboxing. Due to the unstable political and military situation in Chechnya, the family left their home and moved to the village of Nezlobnaya, Stavropol Territory. After the divorce of his parents and the departure of his elder brother, Sergey had to take care of the family. In the 1990s, as a teenager, he worked part-time to help his mother.

After school, Sergey graduated from the university with a degree in engineering and stayed there as a teacher. Later, he worked as a computer repair engineer and instrumentation engineer. In his spare time, he studies psychology and neural networks.

From a young age, Sergey wanted to learn more about God. He prayed to understand what the Bible says. After studying the Scriptures, he was struck by the clarity and simplicity of the Bible's teachings, as well as the fact that God has a personal name. Sergey decided to take the Christian path in 1997.

In 2004, Sergey married Marina, who shared his life values. In her spare time, she enjoys tending the garden, cooking and reading. After the wedding, the Kretovs lived in Georgiyevsk (Stavropol Territory), and in 2007 the family moved to the city of Gryazi (Lipetsk region). The couple raised a daughter, Liza. The whole family loves to watch interesting movies in the evenings, play board games, solve puzzles on biblical themes.

The arrest, the criminal case and the trial were a blow to the whole family. Sergey said: "For 17 years of family life, the time spent in the pre-trial detention center, in which I was 8 months, was the longest parting with Marina. Under these conditions, we learned to take care of each other in a new way."

Due to criminal prosecution, Sergey lost his job, but later, having been released from the pre-trial detention center on his own recognizance, he was able to find work in his specialty again in a private company.

Case History

In November 2020, officers of the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on extremism, and the next day, accompanied by riot police, conducted a series of searches at 9 addresses of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the town of Gryazi. Five peaceful believers, including two pensioners, were detained and sent to a temporary detention facility. Natalia Perekatiy, Tatyana Morlang and Svetlana Vyrezkova were released 2 days later on their own recognizance, and Yevgeny Reshetnikov and Sergey Kretov were sent to a pre-trial detention center. In June 2021, two more believers were detained as part of the same criminal case: Aleksandr Popras and Valeriy Khmil. No preventive measure was chosen against Popras, and Khmil was placed under house arrest for 57 days. Kretov and Reshetnikov spent about 8 months in a pre-trial detention center and 4 months under house arrest. In November 2023, the court began considering the case.