Russian forces intensify illegal detentions and human rights

In the occupied Crimea, Russian security forces continue to systematically persecute local residents. During the week, several new cases of illegal detentions and human rights violations were recorded.

This was reported by Suspilne.Krym.

One of these cases was the detention of a resident of Simferopol. According to the Russian security forces, the man allegedly collected information about the location of military facilities of the occupation army and passed it to the Security Service of Ukraine. The detainee allegedly confirmed his involvement in cooperation with the Ukrainian special services and provided testimony.

The FSB initiated criminal proceedings under the article on "confidential cooperation with a foreign state," which provides for a sentence of up to 8 years in prison.

Another case was the trial against a woman from Crimea who was accused of"extremism". The woman wrote the phrase "a good Russian is a dead Russian" in one of the comments on Facebook. After that, FSB officers came to her house and searched it.

Russian propaganda media, in particular, reported that the woman allegedly called for the destruction of the Russian language and nation. However, no confirmation of this information was provided, and law enforcement officers were unable to find sufficient evidence to support such accusations.

Human rights activists pointed out that the charges may be groundless, as the woman should not have been charged with "extremism" for a comment on a social network. This case is another example of political persecution under the occupation.

Repressions against local residents in Crimea continue, and every week brings new facts of illegal detentions, searches and human rights violations, which are becoming systemic under the conditions of prolonged occupation.

In addition, at least 92 Ukrainians are being held behind bars in the temporarily occupied Crimea on trumped-up charges of"espionage" and "sabotage." Human rights activists report torture, psychological pressure, and staged videos of "confessions."

In the first three months of 2025, at least 13 searches were recorded on the peninsula, 7 of which were conducted on members of the Crimean Tatar community. Most of the detentions - 14 cases - are related to "discrediting the army," another 13 people are accused of"treason," and 5 are in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case.

It has recently been nine years since the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people was banned by the Russian occupation administration. Despite this, the Mejlis has not stopped fighting for the rights of the Crimean Tatars and continues to advocate for the de-occupation of Crimea.

Анна Бальчінос