Political Persecution in Crimea: 385 Charged and 240 Still Detained

Over the 11 years of the annexation of Crimea, 385 people have been prosecuted for political reasons. As of today, 240 of them are in places of detention.

This was reported by Tatiana Savchuk, communications manager of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.

According to her, residents of Crimea and other occupied territories of Ukraine are discriminated against on ethnic and religious grounds. She emphasized that it is important to remind society that the war did not begin in 2022, but in 2014, when Russia occupied Crimea.

Eskender Bariev, Chairman of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, emphasized that the struggle for the peninsula has been going on for 11 years and is part of the overall struggle for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"It is important for us that the Ukrainian society is consolidated and understands that Crimea is Ukraine," he emphasized on the eve of the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea.

Recently, Russian security forces conducted massive searches in the homes of Crimean Muslim Tatars in occupied Crimea. The raids took place in the villages of Dzhankoy and Kirov districts.

The occupants were Emir Kurtnezirov from the village of Lobanove. He is the son of political prisoner and Imam Remzi Kurtnezirov. The searches also took place in the houses of Rustem Mustafayev in the village of Istochne, Abibulla Smedlyayev in Novokrymske and Mirzaal Tajibayev in the village of Yarke Pole.

All four were detained by the FSB. Later, it became known about the fifth detainee - Bakhtiyar Ablaev from the village of Kovylne, Dzhankoy district.

In 2024, 61 searches were recorded in the occupied Crimea, of which 35 were conducted in the homes of Crimean Tatars.

Also, according to the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, after the occupation of Crimea, the Russian Federation has been actively practicing religious persecution on the peninsula. Currently, 117 people are being persecuted in the so-called " Hizb ut-Tahrir case". 114 of them are representatives of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people. 82 of them are serving their sentences in Russian prisons and colonies, while 28 are in pre-trial detention centers, 2 are under house arrest, and 5 have been released. The charges in these "cases", according to the CTRC, are based on the testimony of "hidden witnesses" and the conclusions of "experts" who actively cooperate with the Russian Federal Security Service.

Андрій Колісніченко