Series of Searches in Kursk. One Believer Sent to a Detention Center, Two Others Under House Arrest

On August 8, 2023, at least 6 addresses were searched in Kursk. Three Jehovah's Witnesses were detained. On August 10, the Leninskiy District Court of Kursk placed Nikolay Kupriyanskiy and Oksana Chausova, who needs surgical treatment, under house arrest, and her husband, Dmitriy, was sent to a detention center.

The search in the house of 55-year-old Nikolay Kupriyanskiy began at 6 a.m. and lasted about 9 hours. Apparently, a criminal case had been initiated against the believer on suspicion of organizing the activity of an extremist organization (Article 282.2(1) of the RF CrC).

The law enforcement officers seized electronic devices, personal photographs and cards, various translations of the Bible, as well as a large amount of money set aside for the purchase of a plot of land. After the search, Dmitriy was sent to a temporary detention facility, and his wife, was taken to the FSB office for interrogation as a witness, which was conducted by assistant investigator Aleksandr Gorlov.

Searches also took place at the homes of the married couple Dmitriy and Oksana Chausov, and Oksana's mother. The couple is suspected of participating in the activity of a banned religious organization (Article 282.2(2) of the RF CrC).

The investigative actions were led by  Maksim Zaitsev, FSB investigator for the Kursk Region. The search warrant presented to one of the believers indicated that the search was being carried out “in order to find and seize interactive devices with the help of which... persons who are among the target audience of the LRO of Jehovah’s Witnesses (Kursk)... participate in meetings with followers of the organization. Law enforcement officers also searched for religious literature in paper and electronic formats and certain “reports from members of the organization on the work done to improve themselves and disseminate the ideology of the religious teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses to the masses.”

Zaitsev had previously investigated a criminal case against Andrey Andreyev and four other believers from Kursk (the case was initiated in 2019 and the defendants have already served their sentences).