The Day of Ukrainian Political Prisoner in Ukraine has been celebrated since 1975 on the initiative of the political figure and dissident Viacheslav Chornovil. This day was established to oppose the repression and cruelty of the Soviet regime. Then hundreds of activists paid for their civic position and received dozens of years in prison. But, unfortunately, time passes, but the situation does not change. The Russian Federation, as a true descendant of the Soviet Union, continues this practice.
After the occupation of Crimea, the Russian Federation, unlawfully using its legislation for political purposes, launched mass repressions against Crimean Tatars and pro-Ukrainian activists on the peninsula. Detentions and arrests of people have become a regular practice.
According to the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, during the entire period of occupation, the number of political prisoners and those prosecuted in criminal cases reached 306 in occupied Crimea, 206 of them were representatives of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people. This category consists of 5 components depending on the status of the person being persecuted:
– sentenced and serve terms in colonies (150, 99 – Crimean Tatars);
– have restrictions or on probation (34, 20 – Crimean Tatars);
– in pre-trial detention facilities (35, 26 – Crimean Tatars);
– released (54, 34 – Crimean Tatars)
– persecuted (33, 27 – Crimean Tatars).
Moreover, after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the practice of illegal detentions and arrests spread to the newly occupied territories of Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
The Crimean Tatar Resource Center demands the immediate release of political prisoners and calls on the international community and international human rights organizations to increase pressure on the Russian Federation and the occupation authorities of Crimea in order to stop political persecution.