In the last 3 days alone, Russian security forces in the occupied Crimea and the newly occupied territory of Kherson region have carried out at least 4 detentions, 1 search and imposed 1 fine.
On March 13, early in the morning in Bakhchisarai, Russian security forces searched the house of Edem Dudakov, a delegate of the Kurultai of the Crimean Tatar people, a member of the Kurultai’s Audit Commission. Russian punishers took the man to the FSB office in Akmesdzhit (Simferopol).
A Crimean resident was fined 30 thousand rubles for a publication about the liberation of Kherson. On November 1, 2022, she wrote in Ukrainian in one of the social networks about the liberation of Kherson from the “Russian world”, which the occupying authorities interpreted as discrediting the Russian army.
A resident of Akmesdzhit (Simferopol) was detained for 8 days for “Red Viburnum” in a playlist called “Favorites” on a YouTube channel.
The FSB, together with border guards, detained a 33-year-old man in Crimea who allegedly “called for the massacre of Russians” in messengers. A case was opened against him under the article on calls for extremist activities.
Investigative authorities of the Russian Investigative Committee opened another criminal case against a 35-year-old resident of the Razdolnensky district of the occupied Crimea for “insulting the feelings of believers.” According to the Russian investigation, a resident of the village of Strumki posted on social networks “images and comments offensive to Orthodox believers, accessible to a wide range of Internet users.” The man is charged with Part 1 of Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Committing public actions to offend the religious feelings of believers”).
In Henichesk, Kherson region, a local resident was detained for allegedly actively participating in the Crimean Tatar volunteer battalion named after Noman Chelebidzhikhan.
This is how the occupiers fight disloyal Crimean residents to create the appearance of “support for the Russian authorities.”
The Crimean Tatar Resource Center considers the persecution of pro-Ukrainian activists to be another gross violation of international law in order to intimidate the local population, which is increasingly resisting in the occupied territories.
These illegal actions are clearly politically motivated and criminal, and those involved must be held accountable.
The Crimean Tatar Resource Center calls on the international community to make every effort to bring Russia to justice for its crimes.