The number of public associations has decreased in Crimea during the years of occupation

Over the twelve years of Russian occupation, the number of civil society organizations in Crimea has decreased by almost three times, and independent activity on the peninsula has actually come under the total control of the security forces.

This was reported by Suspicious Crimea with reference to an activist of the international campaign #LiberateCrimea.

Until 2014, there were more than ten thousand public associations in the region , while today, according to the Russian Ministry of Justice, there are only 3392 of them left. However, experts emphasize that these statistics are only a facade, as most of the registered structures are veterans', military-patriotic and sports organizations with a pro-Russian position, which are actually appendages of the occupation authorities, not a free Third Sector.

According to official data, more than 700 sports federations, 230 trade unions, and 184 foundations are currently registered on the peninsula, with the greatest activity in the fields of education, science, and culture, where public activities often become an instrument of ideological influence. Despite the harsh 'slide of repression', activists note that the occupiers have not managed to completely burn out real civil society.

The Crimean Solidarity, an association of human rights lawyers and relatives of political prisoners, the independent newspaper Kirim, led by Bekir Mamutov, and underground resistance groups continue to operate on the peninsula. This network of independent centers remains the only counterweight to the official sham that has replaced democratic institutions in Crimea.

Earlier, in the temporarily occupied Crimea, the Russian-controlled Kyiv District Court of Simferopol extended the pre-trial restraint in the form of detention for four Crimean women accused by Russian security forces of alleged involvement in terrorist activities.

These are 21-year-old businesswoman Fevziya Osmanova, 20-year-old student Elviza Aliyeva, 19-year-old student Nasiba Saidova and 40-year-old Esma Nimetullayeva , the mother of five young girls. The court hearing on the extension of the preventive measure was held on March 12. As a result, the court ruled to keep the women in custody until June 14.

Катерина Глушко