In the first quarter of 2020, 15 searches were recorded in the occupied Crimea, 12 of which were carried out in Crimean Tatars’ households.. This indicator is less than the number of searches for the first quarter of 2019. Then the CTRC recorded 45 searches. However, the trend of political and religious persecution has remained unchanged since the occupation of the peninsula. This is stated in the analysis of human rights violations in the occupied Crimea for the first quarter of 2020 by the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.
According to the organization, in January there were no new searches. In February, security forces conducted one search in the so-called Jehovah's Witnesses case and two more in the households of two teenagers suspected of allegedly preparing terrorist attacks in Kerch educational institutions. The largest number of searches in the reporting period, as well as last year, was recorded in March. Back then, eight searches were related to the so-called Hizb ut-Tahrir case, one was related to the so-called Noman Çelebicihan volunteer battalion. Also in March, the invaders twice searched the dwellings of the 67-year-old Crimean Tatar woman and of the 26-year-old Crimean Tatar man.
During these searches, security forces often violate the rights of victims. In particular, while entering the premises, private property was damaged, or a search was conducted in the absence of the owner, or the prohibited literature was planted.
Get yourself acquainted with the analysis of human rights violations in the occupied Crimea for the first quarter of 2020.
Recall that after the occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, searches became a regular practice on the peninsula. These actions are an act of intimidation of people disloyal to the actions of Russia in Crimea. According to the CTRC, in 2019, 86 searches were recorded in the occupied Crimea, 64 of which were carried out in Crimean Tatars' households. This indicator is almost identical to the number of searches in 2018 (92), but significantly exceeds the indicator for 2017 (62).