Name: Ursu Viktor Aleksandrovich
Date of Birth: June 24, 1965
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (1)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 4 day in a pre-trial detention, 357 day Under house arrest
Current restrictions: detention center
Sentence: imprisonment for a term of 6 years in a general regime penal colony, with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to leadership and participation in the work of public organizations for a period of 5 years, with restriction of liberty for 1 year
Currently held in: Detention Center No.1 for Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol

Ursu Viktor Aleksandrovich, born 1965, Detention Center No.1 for Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, Bul. Lenina, 4, Simferopol, Republic of Crimea, 295051

Letters of support can be sent by regular mail or through the ZT system.

Note: discussing topics related to criminal prosecution is not allowed in letters; languages other than Russian will not pass.

Biography

Victor's father, grandfather and great-grandfather Ursu from Dzhankoy went through religious persecution during the Soviet Union, and now Victor himself has faced persecution for his faith. In July 2023, after mass searches in the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses in Crimea, he became a defendant in a criminal case on extremism.

Viktor was born in June 1965 in the village of Semiskul (Kurgan region). He has an older sister. When the children were still small, the family moved from Siberia, where they were in exile, to Dzhankoy.

In his youth, Victor was fond of photography, radio electronics, design, astronomy, learned to play the accordion and guitar. He liked to read popular science literature and science fiction.

After school, Victor got a job as a handyman at a cannery, where he studied to be a turner, and later worked on the railway in an experimental workshop. He also worked as a milling machine, recently mastered the profession of a scraper.

In his free time, Victor likes to sing, draw, listen to music, watch movies with good acting and read about art.

The Ursu family has always valued biblical knowledge - his great-great-grandfather was the first to become interested in this book. Since childhood, Victor believed in God and loved to watch his creations, he was amazed by their complexity, wisdom and beauty. In 1983, he was determined to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Victor met his future wife, Marina, who also grew up in a family of believers, at a friend's wedding. They got married in 1988. Marina worked as a seamstress in a garment factory, recently she has been repairing clothes, is fond of knitting and needlework, and she also likes to garden. The couple love to travel together. They have a daughter, Lyubov, who also shares the religious views of her parents.

The criminal prosecution radically changed Viktor's life. Due to stress and anxiety, he developed health problems. According to relatives, he worries that he has lost the opportunity to provide for his family, but does not lose optimism. Numerous relatives and friends support Victor and his family.

Case History

In the summer of 2023, 5 years after mass searches of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Dzhankoy (Crimea), law enforcement officers invaded the house of Viktor Ursu, whose father was exiled to Siberia in the late 1940s for his faith. Now Viktor has been detained for allegedly refusing to show his passport. He was accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization because of his faith. He spent 12 days in the temporary detention facility, after which the court placed the believer under house arrest for almost a year. In August 2024, the restriction measure for the believer was changed to a recognizance agreement, and in September the case was sent to court. On September 8, 2025, Viktor Ursu was sentenced to 6 years in a penal colony with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to leadership and participation in the work of public organizations for a period of 5 years with restriction of liberty for 1 year.
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