Occupants increasingly persecute women in occupied Crimea and hold them incommunicado — Eskender Bariiev

The head of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center and member of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Eskender Bariiev, told QIRIM.News about the fate of three women, residents of the occupied village of Yedi-Kuyu (Lenino), who were kidnapped by the occupiers back in March 2024. According to available information, they are currently being held in pre-trial detention center No. 2 in the city of Akmesdzhit (Simferopol).  These are Larisa Gaidai, who disappeared on March 27, as well as Tatiana Pavlenko (Simonenko) and Elvira Aboyazova, who disappeared the next day.

There is still no official confirmation from the occupying authorities, but the Crimean Tatar Resource Center has received verified information from its own sources. There has been no official confirmation from the occupying authorities yet, but the CTRC has received verified information from its own sources.

“Our sources have provided us with preliminary information that the women are in Akmesdzhit (Simferopol), in SIZO-2. But the occupiers have not yet officially provided any information about them,” – Bariiev said.

He emphasized that similar cases have already occurred, in particular in the cases of Iryna Danylovych and Iryna Gorobtsova. At that time, people were illegally detained without contact with the outside world, and later the occupiers were forced to officially confirm their whereabouts.

“Perhaps they are being charged with something, but they are not talking about it publicly. Secondly, perhaps they are being held in order to obtain the necessary information from them to continue their activities there. And thirdly, in our opinion, this is due to the fact that they have not yet built up any “investigative evidence” to prepare charges against them,” said the Chairman of the Board of the CTRC.

Eskender Bariiev also noted that Detention Center No. 2, where the women are likely being held, was previously a penal colony that has been completely re-equipped. According to him, abuses and impunity in the treatment of detainees, especially representatives of the Crimean Tatar people, are often reported there.

He separately highlighted an alarming trend: the occupiers are increasingly persecuting women and holding them incommunicado, without any contact with the outside world. Often, information about such detainees is obtained not from relatives, but through alternative sources.

“It is very important to let people know that these people are alive, that they are in captivity, and most importantly, that there is a response from the competent international authorities in order to influence the occupiers so that they at least provide public information about them,”  – Eskender Bariiev emphasized.