Updated: April 23, 2024
Name: Sidorova Irina Vladimirovna
Date of Birth: March 3, 1976
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2)
Died while under investigation

Biography

On April 20, 2020, the security forces of Khakassia opened a criminal case, accusing 44-year-old Irina Sidorova of extremist activities just because she believes in Jehovah God. On July 17, 2020, Irina died in the hospital after undergoing two surgeries.

Irina was born in 1976 in the village of Uybat (Republic of Khakassia). Her parents are dead. Two of the four children in this family also died early.

Irina grew up as a versatile child: she did gymnastics, sang in the choir, attended a theater studio and an art circle. After graduating from school, Irina changed several professions: a gas station operator, a nurse, a spinner, a cleaner, etc. Irina was divorced, she has two children, one of them is a minor.

In addition to Uybat, Irina lived in the village of Raikov and the city of Chernogorsk, and until her death she lived in the village of Sapogov.

One day, Irina decided to find out why Jesus Christ allowed herself to be executed. The answer from the Bible convinced her that this book could be trusted. In 2017, Irina was baptized as a Christian. Relatives, neighbors, and work colleagues considered the criminal prosecution of this hardworking woman unjustified.

Case History

Several criminal cases were singled out from the high-profile case of the Baranovskiys , a mother and son. One of them was opened by the Abakan Investigation Department on April 20, 2020 against Aleksandr Vergunov, Matryona Spiriadi and Irina Sidorova (she died three months later). At that time, Vergunov was doing alternative civilian service at a medical center, and Spiriadi was the guardian of his disabled grandson. After more than a year of investigation, the case was submitted to the Abakan City Court of the Republic of Khakassia. It was considered by Judge Yuriy Lotsky. On April 4, 2022, the court sentenced the believers to 2.5 years of probation. The appeal upheld the verdict.