Senior investigator of the Investigative Committee for the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol A. A. Farimov initiates a criminal case against Vitaliy Burik under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
The investigation interpreted Vitaliy's peaceful confession of faith as "active actions of an organizational nature aimed at continuing the illegal activities of the extremist organization LRO Jehovah's Witnesses of Kerch, banned by the court, expressed in the organization of propaganda meetings."
Judge of the Kiev District Court of Simferopol Denis Didenko authorizes a search of Vitaliy Burik's house.
The homes of Jehovah's Witnesses in Kerch are searched, after which they are interrogated and released.
Burik was placed in a temporary detention center and charged with organizing the activities of an extremist organization.
The Kiev District Court of the city of Simferopol places Burik under house arrest.
Vitaliy Burik files an appeal against the search to the Supreme Court of the Republic of Crimea. He states: "I ceased my participation in the activities of the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in Kerch back in March 2017. However, being a deeply religious person, I did not stop professing my faith in Jehovah God, which was not and could not be prohibited by the court." The believer also notes that the search was difficult for his minor daughter, who is on disability.