Crimea is Repressive

While Crimea awaits liberation, the Russian occupiers continue to oppress pro-Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar activists, journalists, and human rights defenders.

photo: Crimean Solidarity

On July 27, near the building of the occupied Supreme Court in Simferopol, Russian security forces detained 14 Crimean Tatars.

The mass detentions occurred during the review of the appeal against the verdict in "the case of Nariman Dzhelal and the Akhtemov brothers," as reported by Crimean Solidarity, which published a list of detained activists.

Among those detained were the parents of Aziz Akhtemov, Zaryema and Eskender Akhtemov, journalists Lutfie Zudieva and Kulamet Ibraimov, as well as relatives of political prisoner Nariman Dzhelal.

Local reporters mentioned that all the detainees were crammed into a bus and taken to the district office of the occupation police.

Russian forces attempted to forcibly obtain fingerprints and DNA samples from all the detainees. The mother of political prisoner Aziza Akhtemova staunchly refused fingerprinting and photo-fixation. In response, the occupiers initiated an administrative case against Zarema Akhtemova, accusing her of "organizing a mass event."

Using the same clause, the Russian security forces filed a report against journalists and activists Lutfie Zudieva, Ruslan Dzhelialov, and Rustem Useinov. A case was also opened against "Crimean Solidarity" correspondent Kulamet Ibraimov for "repeated offense."

photo: Crimean Solidarity

The defense for politician Nariman Dzhelal and activists Asan and Aziz Akhtemov is still appealing last year's decision by the occupying "Supreme Court of Crimea," which sentenced all three to 17, 15, and 13 years, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Russian authorities are attempting to relocate other Crimean political prisoners from the peninsula, with their number now exceeding 120.

Recently, the occupiers forcibly transferred pro-Ukrainian activist Iryna Danylovych from Crimea, who had been illegally sentenced to 7 years on alleged possession of an explosive device. According to her father, the Ukrainian woman was taken to Krasnodar.

It has also come to light that the Russian FSIN (Federal Service of Execution of Punishments) relocated Crimean Tatar political prisoner Izzet Abdullayev from the Rostov region of Russia to Ulyanovsk, a distance of 1,300 km farther from Crimea than his previous place of illegal imprisonment.

Furthermore, the occupiers sent Tofik Abdulgaziev, who had been illegally sentenced to 12 years, even further away to the Chelyabinsk region, a distance of 2,000 km from his previous place of captivity.

The FSIN unjustly denied the transfer of political prisoner Seyran Saliev from the colony in the Tula region to Crimea. The agency cited no reason for keeping the prisoner in his homeland, despite the fact that Seyran's wife and his four children have to endure a journey of almost three days to visit him.