Additional Name(s): Anatoli Pavlovich Zernichenko
Gender: Male
Current Location: Investigation Prison No. 11, Shymkent
Perpetrator: Kazakhstan
Religion or Belief: Muslim – Sunni
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Sentence: 7 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: October/15/2021
Date of Sentencing: June/20/2022
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Discussing Religion & Religious Texts Online Activity Possession of Religious Materials Religious Activity Religious Belief
Nature of Charges: Incitement to Commit Crime & Violence Terrorism
Anatoli Zernichenko is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
On October 15, 2021, authorities in Arys arrested Zernichenko for posting religious texts on Instagram and Telegram in 2020. After the arrest, authorities confiscated religious books and personal items from his home and another property.
On June 20, 2022, the Arys District Court sentenced Zernichenko to seven years' imprisonment for “promotion of terrorism or public calls for making of the act of terrorism…with use of mass media or networks of telecommunications” (Art. 256-2 KCC) and fined him 55,560 tenges. While in prison, authorities have refused access to the Qur’an or other religious literature.
Zernichenko is married with one child.