A Wave of Searches Took Place in Crimea, New Criminal Cases for Faith Were Initiated

On August 5, 2021, in Armyansk — in the north of the Crimean Peninsula — a series of searches of local believers took place. 60-year-old Alexandr Litvinyuk was detained and taken 140 kilometers away from his home, to Simferopol. On August 6, the court chose a measure of restraint for him in the form of house arrest, and at about midnight the believer was taken home.

Three days before the search, Vitaliy Vlasov, senior investigator of the Investigative Department of the FSB of Russia for the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, opened criminal cases under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization of extremist activities) against Alexandr Litvinyuk and another local believer — 48-year-old Alexandr Dubovenko. The basis was the reports received from the FSB Border Directorate. Litvinyuk is accused of “using the Zoom video conferencing software” to “attract new members of the [banned] organization”.

On August 6, 2021, the judge of the Kiev District Court of Simferopol, Andrey Dolgopolov, sent Alexandr Litvinyuk under house arrest until October 1, 2021.

Alexandr Dubovenko was staying with relatives in another city, so the search took place in his absence. The believer's wife Irina was at home. At about 6 a.m., she noticed several people in the courtyard. There was a knock on the door, closing the peephole. Irina recently had a coronavirus and still felt weak, but the security forces forced her to open, posing as FSB officers. Investigator Lavrov presented a search warrant issued by the Kiev District Court of Simferopol. Law enforcement officers seized electronic devices, personal records, title documents for the apartment and Alexandr's work papers.

The searches were carried out in total in the homes of 8 believers from Armyansk aged 47 to 72 years. The security forces arrived in minibuses and cars without license plates. They tried to get into one of the apartments, calling the representatives of public utilities to block the sewage system. They confiscated electronic devices and personal records from believers, searched for funds, personal notes and notebooks with handwritten text, which contains links to the Bible. The law enforcement officers did not provide copies of the decisions and protocols on the seizure of things.

In addition to believers from Armyansk, already 10 residents of Crimea are being prosecuted for their faith in Jehovah God. Sergey Filatov and Artem Gerasimov are serving real terms in a general regime colony only because of their religion.