Pre-investigation checks on the criminal article “extremism” are carried out with regard to Crimean citizen Natalia Kharchenko (the wife of the activist of Ukrainian cultural centre of Crimea Andrey Vinogradov) by the Federal Security Service of Russia officers in Crimea.
This was reported to the Crimean Human Rights Group (CHRG) by the lawyer Edem Semedlyaev.
According to the lawyer, about 7 am on 12 January Russian Federal Security Service officers came to the house, where Natalia Kharchenko and Andrey Vinogradov are living together with their parents and young children. They presented to Crimean citizens so-called “the investigator’s decision to survey of the house.” As the result of this survey Natalia and Andrei were seized their computer equipment. Both were taken by the security forces to the “Russian Federal Security Service of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol” (13 Ivan Franko Street, Simferopol).
Semedlyaev informed CHRG that against Natalia Kharchenko investigation verification is conducted under Part 2 of Article 280 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (public calls for extremist activities committed using the mass media or information and telecommunication networks, including “Internet”). The investigator without presence of the lawyer got the woman’s explanations and “agreement on the pre-trial confidentiality of information.” Natalya came out of the Crimean department of the Federal Security Service of Russia only at 2 pm. She was scared and didn’t feel good.
According to the lawyer, at 11.30 am he arrived to the Federal Security Service of Russia, where Natalya and Andrey were, but he could get to the investigator only after few hours after the calls to the hotline of the the Federal Security Service of Russia. In his presence Andrey Vinogradov refused to testify, using Article 51 of the Constitution. Computer equipment was not returned to Vinogradov.
Crimean citizens are raising two young daughters.
Previously CHRG reported that according to the head of Ukrainian cultural centre of Crimea Leonid Kuzmin, Andrey Vinogradov informed him by phone this morning that Federal Security Service of Russia officers came and took him to the interrogation. Later it became known that both Crimean citizens were taken to the Federal Security Service of Russia office
