Case of Ursu in Dzhankoy

Case History

In the summer of 2023, 5 years after the mass searches of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Dzhankoy (Crimea), law enforcement officers again invaded the homes of believers. They detained Victor Ursu for allegedly refusing to show his passport. The man was accused of organizing the activity of an extremist organization only because of his faith. He spent 12 days in the temporary detention center, after which the court placed the believer under house arrest for almost a year. In August 2024, the believer’s preventive measure was changed to a recognizance agreement.
Timeline

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    December 27, 2018
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    July 27, 2023 Inspection of residence

    Judge of the Kiev District Court of Simferopol Denis Didenko authorizes the conduct of the ORM at Victor Ursu.

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    July 28, 2023 Search Temporary detention facility Elderly Prosecution of several family members Inspection of residence Administrative detention

    At 6 a.m., at least 11 security officers come to the Ursu family's home in Dzhankoy. At least four of them are armed. No one presents official identification. For some time, the spouses are not allowed to dress.

    Law enforcement officers begin a survey of the entire household, including the attic, basement and garage. Electronic devices, the Bible, and religious literature are seized from family members.

    In response to a request to show his passport, Victor Ursu asks the senior officer to show his official ID, which is refused. The law enforcement officer draws up an act of administrative offense against Viktor as disobedience to the order of a police officer and sends the believer to the temporary detention facility.

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    August 7, 2023 Interrogation Case initiated Art. 282.2 (1) Temporary detention facility

    Victor Ursu is released from the temporary detention facility, he is again detained and taken for interrogation to the local branch of the Investigative Committee. There, investigator A. V. Gerasimov reports that a criminal case has been opened against him under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization of activities of an extremist organization).

    Urs is charged. According to the ruling, the believer's guilt is that he and "other unidentified persons ... called propaganda meetings ... to discuss the texts and religious provisions of Jehovah's Witnesses."

    After the interrogation, Viktor is again taken to the temporary detention facility.

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    August 9, 2023 House arrest Art. 282.2 (1)

    Judge of the Dzhankoysky District Court Oksana Sinitsyna sends Viktor Ursa under house arrest.

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    August 16, 2023 Search Interrogation

    As part of the criminal case against Victor Ursu, the house of Mikhail and Lyubov Gozhan is searched again, then Mikhail is interrogated. For the first time, security forces came to them as part of the criminal case against Sergei Filatov.

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    July 31, 2024 House arrest Electronic ankle tag

    The term of house arrest of Victor Ursu is coming to an end. The tracking bracelet is removed from it.

    The prosecutor's office returns the believer's case to the Investigative Committee. According to the investigator, Ursu's case will be conducted by the deputy head of the Investigation Department in Cankoy.

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    August 27, 2024 Recognizance agreement

    The deputy head of the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee for Dzhankoy, D. P. Cherniy, decides to choose a preventive measure for Victor Ursu in the form of a recognizance not to leave and proper behavior.