Russian security forces disguise repressions in Crimea as detentions for drug crimes

In the annexed Crimea, Russians are disguising repressions against Ukrainians and registering detainees for "drug possession."

According to the Center for National Resistance, created by the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces, local residents report that cases of detainees being charged with drug crimes as part of "counter-sabotage measures" have become more frequent.

"At the same time, the detainees are not given the right to a lawyer and relatives are not informed of the detainee's whereabouts. Consideration of the preventive measure takes place behind closed doors," the CNS said in a statement.

Earlier, the Crimean Tatar Resource Center reported that during the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war in the newly occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, at least 395 people were abducted, 103 of whom were representatives of the Crimean Tatar people. And according to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, at least 177 Ukrainian prisoners died in Russian captivity after the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to Victoria Tsymbalyuk, a representative of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the more time prisoners of war spend in Russian prisons, the closer they are to death. She also noted that due to the lack of international control, the real number of deaths in Russian prisons is probably much higher.

"177 is the number we have established. But, of course, not all the bodies have been returned, and Russia has not even confirmed that many of them were held in captivity," added Tsymbalyuk.

Currently, at least 41 of the 218 illegally convicted Crimean political prisoners are in need of immediate medical care, 31 of them are Crimean Tatars.

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