Torture, trials, interrogations: every second arrest in Crimea in 2025 concerned indigenous people

In the first half of 2025, almost one hundred arrests were recorded in the occupied Crimea, half of which concerned Crimean Tatars. Numerous human rights violations were also documented, including interrogations, torture, and restrictions on access to justice and medical care, mostly involving indigenous people.

This was reported by Tatiana Savchuk, Communications Manager of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.

During the first half of 2025, at least 99 people were arrested in the temporarily occupied Crimea, almost half of whom were Crimean Tatars (48 people).

Screenshot: Crimean Tatar Resource Center

For comparison, 92 arrests were recorded in the same period in 2024, and 140 in 2023.

According to her, these are not only new arrests, but also administrative detentions and sentences: in just six months, at least 32 sentences, 39 new arrests and five cases of administrative arrests have been documented.

Screenshot: Crimean Tatar Resource Center

In addition, from January to June 2025, the occupation authorities detained 64 people, 13 of whom were representatives of the Crimean Tatar people, said Eskender Bariev, Chairman of the Board of the CTRC.

He also noted that 77 cases of interrogations, so-called conversations and surveys were recorded, 20 of which involved Crimean Tatars, as well as 150 cases of violations of the right to a fair trial, half of which concerned the indigenous people.

Screenshot: Crimean Tatar Resource Center

Violations of the right to medical care and decent treatment were recorded at least 26 times, 19 of which also concerned Crimean Tatars.

Repressions in the occupied Crimea are systemic and mostly directed against Crimean Tatars, the indigenous people of the peninsula.

According to the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, as of July 2025, 260 political prisoners from Crimea are being held in Russian prisons and detention centers, 153 of whom are Crimean Tatars.

The monitoring shows large-scale and ongoing human rights violations: since 2014, 413 cases of political persecution have been recorded, with more than 240 cases against members of the Crimean Tatar community.

Анна Бальчінос