On Friday, December 13, at a Lviv press club, the Crimean Tatar Resource Center and the Crimean Tatar Cultural Center in Lviv held a press conference on the topic: “The Situation in Occupied Crimea. Analysis of Human Rights Violations for over 9 Months of 2019”. According to the CTRC, during the reporting period, 80 searches, 126 detentions, 169 interrogations, interviews, “conversations” and 282 arrests were conducted on the peninsula, including 213 cases of arrest extension, 578 cases of violation of the right to a fair trial, 90 cases of violation of the healthcare access right, 69 cases of political prisoner transfer.
The speakers at the event were:
Eskender Bariiev – Head of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, member of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people;
Timur Barotov – People's Hero of Ukraine, 2nd captain of the reserve of the Ukrainian Navy, member of the ATO, Head of the Combatants Association union.
Enver Bekirov – Director of the Haytarma foundation, Crimean Tatar Cultural Center in Lviv.
The press conference presented the analysis and dynamics of the illegal actions of the occupation authorities, violations of the right to life, liberty, security and personal integrity (searches, detentions, interrogations, arrests, etc.), violations of fundamental freedoms (violation of the right to a fair trial, to the healthcare access, illegal transfers, etc.) for 9 months of 2019.
According to the Head of the Board of the CTRC, Eskender Bariiev, for 9 months of 2019, 80 searches were recorded in occupied Crimea, 62 of which were carried out in Crimean Tatars' dwellings. This indicator is almost identical to the indicator for 9 months of 2018. Then 79 searches were recorded, 68 of which were carried out in the dwellings of Crimean Tatars. This indicates systematic repression on the peninsula, in particular against indigenous people. Although in the third quarter of this year, the number of searches on the peninsula decreased, however, statistics show that the trend of searches remains unchanged.
During the 9 months of 2019, 126 cases of detentions were recorded on the peninsula, 113 of which were against representatives of the Crimean Tatar people. The number of detentions for this period significantly exceeds the figure for 9 months of 2018. Then 91 cases were recorded, 65 of which – in relation to the Crimean Tatars. Moreover, the number of detentions in the 3rd quarter exceeds the figures for the 2nd and 1st – 57, 17 and 52 cases, respectively.
For 9 months of 2019, 169 cases of interrogations and “conversations” were recorded in occupied Crimea, 115 of which were related to representatives of the Crimean Tatar people. The number of interrogations for this period, as well as the number of detentions, significantly exceeds the figure for 9 months of 2018. Then 111 cases of violations were recorded, 79 of which were related to Crimean Tatars. The number of detentions in the 3rd quarter exceeds the figures for 2nd and 1st – 72, 36 and 61, respectively.
In addition, 282 cases of arrest are known, 196 of which are against indigenous people. Of the 282 cases: 69 – new arrests, including sentences, 213 cases – extensions of detention. This figure is more than 2 times greater than the number of arrests for 9 months of 2018. Then 138 cases were recorded, 107 of which were in relation to the Crimean Tatars. The indicators for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarters are 97, 103 and 82 cases, respectively. During this period, 25 people were sentenced to imprisonment. 38 people (two in absentia) were taken into custody.
According to the available data, for 9 months of 2019, 578 cases of violation of the right to a fair trial were recorded, 408 of which were related to Crimean Tatars. In the 1st quarter, 171 cases were recorded, in the 2nd quarter – 210, in the 3rd quarter – 197. Compared with the same period of 2018, the number of violations of the right to a fair trial increased significantly – from 355 to 578. According to experts of the CTRC, this is primarily associated with an increase in the number of people detained and arrested on the peninsula, and as a result, with an increase in the number of political prisoners.
During the reporting period, the CTRC recorded 90 cases of violation of the right to the healthcare access, 45 of which were related to representatives of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people. This indicator is more than twice the figure for the same period last year. Then about 40 cases of violations were known. The indicators for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quarter are 32, 36 and 22 cases, respectively. This violation is related to the failure to provide adequate medical care in places of detention, as a result of the deterioration of the health of political prisoners in Crimea.
The report of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center also contains information about victims and missing persons on the peninsula for 9 months of 2019, on violation of religious, educational, cultural rights, pollution of the environment of Crimea, toughening charges for political prisoners, inappropriate conditions of detention in detention centers, illegal military conscription on the peninsula and military exercises, etc.
Перейти к анализу нарушений прав человека в Крыму за 9 месяцев 2019 года