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 not to leave. The case went to court in September.
Timeline

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    Search Health risk Minors Elderly Fabrications Recognizance agreement Violence by law enforcement officers
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    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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    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 house of the Ursu family in Dzhankoy. At least four of them are armed. No one presents their official IDs. For some time, the spouses are not allowed to get dressed.

    Law enforcement officers begin an inspection of the entire household, including the attic, basement and garage. Electronic devices, the Bible, and religious literature were confiscated from family members.

    In response to a request to show his passport, Victor Ursu asks the senior officer to show his service ID, which is refused. The law enforcement officer draws up an act of administrative offense against Viktor, regarding the request of the believer as disobedience to the order of a police officer. Judge Yelena Nikolayeva sends the believer to a temporary detention facility for 10 days.

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    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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    House arrest Art. 282.2 (1)

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

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    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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    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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    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.

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    Hearing in a court of the first instance

    The preliminary hearing is being held behind closed doors. Friends and relatives of Victor Ursu are waiting outside the courthouse. Among them are his elderly mother, who walks on crutches, and his 85-year-old father.

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    Hearing in a court of the first instance

    Victor Ursu expresses his opinion on the accusation. He states: "I am not a criminal and not an extremist. For more than 50 years I have been living in the city of Dzhankoy, for 40 years I have been working as a milling machine operator at one enterprise - Dzhankoy wagon depot. At the place of residence and work, I am characterized positively. I take care of my elderly parents... Being one of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia is not a crime." The defendant's parents, his wife and an elderly relative are present in the courtroom.

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