Officials involved in repressions in Crimea identified

Human rights activists reported the identification of more than 260 officials involved in the persecution of Ukrainian citizens in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

According to the ZMINA Human Rights Center, these individuals include investigators, prosecutors and judges, most of whom are local collaborators or Russian citizens resettled on the peninsula.

All the collected data was included in the so-called "Black List of Officials", which will serve as a basis for imposing international and national sanctions, as well as possible lawsuits for violations of international humanitarian law.

Since the beginning of the occupation of Crimea, Russia has been violating human rights by resorting to illegal arrests, political persecution, deportations and torture. After the start of full-scale aggression, these violations have only intensified, but the perpetrators still remain unpunished.

According to human rights activists, the Black List will provide a comprehensive picture of the number of people responsible for the persecution of civilians, as well as determine the nature of their crimes for further imposition of personal sanctions.

The occupation of Crimea is accompanied by enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and discrimination against the Crimean Tatar people and other residents of the region. For example, the occupation authorities in Crimea ignore the health of detainees, even if they have disabilities and cannot serve their sentences in conditions where there is no proper medical care. Problems with the implementation of Russian laws can be seen in the case of Oleksandr Sizikov, who became blind and disabled after a car accident. In 2020, he was detained for alleged involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir, and in 2023 he was sentenced to 17 years in prison. This happened despite Russian laws that prohibit the imprisonment of people with complete vision loss.

Another example is the case of Appaz Kurtamet, who was detained for financing an illegal armed group after he lent 500 hryvnias to an acquaintance. Kurtamet was sentenced to seven years in prison on trumped-up charges.

Recently, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine presented a special edition titled "Trials for Truth in Crimea: Stories of 20 Ukrainian Journalists Subjected to Russian Repression".

In 2024, the Crimean Human Rights Group documented more than 150 court hearings in the context of human rights violations in Crimea and 300 court decisions under the article on "discrediting" the Russian army. In addition, information was collected on 151 suspects in cases of calls for genocide of Ukrainians and waging an aggressive war against Ukraine, and 445 statements containing such calls were documented.

Ірина Глухова