Reshat Ametov is the first victim of the Russian occupiers in Crimea. On March 3, 2014, he was kidnapped by unknown persons in camouflage uniforms in the center of Simferopol, where he was holding a one-man picket against the occupation of the peninsula. The man’s body was found on March 15 in a field in the village of Zemlianychne, Bilohirsk district, with stab wounds in the left eye and numerous injuries. His head was bound with tape and his hands were handcuffed. He left three children. Today Reshat Ametov would have turned 49 years old.
In April 2014, the so-called Investigative Committee of the Investigative Directorate of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Crimea opened a criminal case into the murder of Reshat Ametov. In 2015, the case was dropped. The investigation never identified the persons involved in the murder of Reshat Ametov.
Later, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine stated that it had received information that indicates the involvement of the Crimean self-defense in the disappearance and murder of Reshat Ametov. The same opinion was expressed by Eskender Bariiev, a member of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Head of the Board of the Crimean Tatar People and noted that Reshat Ametov is a symbol of the 2014 struggle for the integrity of Ukraine against Russian aggression.
Unfortunately, this is not the only such case. According to the CTRC, today there are 60 dead during the occupation of Crimea, 28 of whom are representatives of the Crimean Tatar people. This category consists of the following components:
– victims of repressions (4, 3 — Crimean Tatars);
– victims of discrimination (13, 11 – Crimean Tatars);
– victims of terror (30, 8 – Crimean Tatars);
– victims of police abuse (13, 6 – Crimean Tatars).
Appeals to the so-called Russian law enforcement agencies do not bring any results. We call on the international community to demand that Russia fully investigate these cases.