Jan. 27, 2025, 11:01 p.m.
(Photo: Ukrinform)
In 2024, 61 searches were recorded in the occupied Crimea, of which 35 were conducted in the homes of Crimean Tatars.
This is stated in the Analysis of Human Rights Violations in Crimea for 2024 by the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.
According to the researchers, this indicates the continuation of repressive policies against the disloyal population in the occupied Crimea. Although this figure is almost half that of the previous year, the trend of mass searches on suspicion of involvement in banned organizations such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, Jehovah's Witnesses, or the Noman Celebicihan Battalion remains unchanged.
Despite the decrease in the number of searches compared to the previous period, the grounds for such actions are often formal: participation in banned organizations, espionage, extremism or hate speech. During searches, the rights of individuals are often violated, as evidenced by numerous cases of damage to property, searches in the absence of the owners, and the planting of prohibited literature and other materials to create evidence.
The CTRC emphasizes that searches have become a regular practice since the occupation of Crimea by Russia, becoming one of the tools of intimidation of local residents who do not support the occupation "authorities".
Also, according to the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, since 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.
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