Enforced Disappearances Surge in Occupied Crimea, Women Most Affected

Dozens of people go missing every year, and more and more of them are women. This was reported by the advocacy expert of CrimeaSOS Artem Oliynyk.

"One of the most disturbing trends is the increase in the number of enforced disappearances, which have become a systemic tool of repression by the Russian Federal Security Service. Dozens of people disappear every year. The growing number of women among the victims is particularly worrying. The fate of Lera Dzhemilova and Tatiana Dyakunovska, who were abducted almost a year ago, remains unknown. The case of Anna Yeltsova, a student from Kherson, is also illustrative - the Russian authorities have kept her in complete isolation for years without bringing any charges," Artem Oliynyk noted.

CrimeaSOS emphasizes that enforced disappearances are a gross violation of human rights and are used by the occupation administration as a means of intimidation of the population.

During the event, he also emphasized that enforced disappearances are not the only method of repression in the occupied Crimea. The Russian authorities punish even for singing a Ukrainian song or criticizing the war: they threaten with beatings, searches, arrests and public humiliation "filmed" for propaganda.

"These actions are justified by the fight against 'discrediting the Russian Armed Forces,' but in reality, the courts are simply stamping out persecution. Since March 2022, at least 1,126 people have fallen victim to this policy, and their number continues to grow," the expert emphasized.

Artem Oliynyk also raised the issue of religious freedom on the occupied peninsula. After all, religious communities in Crimea are systematically persecuted by the occupation special services. Searches, arrests, imprisonment, abductions and falsified trials are their reality.

In particular, Crimean Muslims are the most harassed. Since the beginning of the occupation of Crimea, human rights defenders have recorded 117 victims of criminal prosecution on the peninsula for "belonging to the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization," which is recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia. In addition, 32 people have been persecuted for their involvement in the Jehovah's Witnesses organization, 15 of whom have already been convicted.

Ігор Льов