56 Criminal Cases Opened Against Activists in Crimea Amid Dubious Charges

During 2024, at least 56 illegal or dubious criminal proceedings were opened against civil society activists, journalists, religious leaders and all dissidents in Crimea.

According to CrimeaSOS, the reasons for the criminal prosecution of Crimean residents were accusations of links with organizations banned in Russia, treason, espionage, public statements, organization of sabotage or calls for violence.

"Some of them have been persecuted for acts that do not constitute a crime under Ukrainian law," the organization said in a statement.

The cases of other individuals require additional information. It is important that such persecutions are based on dubious charges and are the result of the application of Russian criminal law in the occupied territories, which violates international humanitarian law.

In general, criminal cases for alleged involvement in the political organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is considered a terrorist organization in Russia, were opened against civil society journalists Rustem Osmanov and Aziz Azizov, Imam Vahid Mustafayev, former Imam Remzi Kurtnezirov, Memet Lumanov, Mustafa Abduramanov, Ali Mamutov, Arsen Kashka, Enver Khalilayev and Nariman Ametov.

The FSB also opened criminal cases against at least six Crimean residents under the article on public calls for extremist activities. Some of them were prosecuted by the occupiers for allegedly calling for violent actions against Russians on social media, others for allegedly calling for the murder of Russian soldiers or for anti-Russian and anti-government slogans.

"In addition, after a long arbitrary detention in a pre-trial detention center, the occupiers accused Kherson activist Irina Gorobtsova of espionage and Lyudmila Kolesnikova, who came from Ireland to attend her mother's funeral, of treason," CrimeaSOS added.

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