At least 26 women from occupied Crimea are being held in Russian detention facilities – Crimean Tatar Resource Center

The Crimean Tatar Resource Center reports the continuation of the illegal practice of detaining women in the temporarily occupied Crimea and on the territory of the Russian Federation. As of August 2025, at least 26 politically persecuted women have been identified who are being held in pre-trial detention centers or correctional colonies.

Some of them have been in places of detention for a long time and have serious health problems. In particular, Iryna Danylovych and Halyna Dovhopola, who are being held in colonies and are not receiving adequate medical care.

It is much more difficult for women to be in prison than for men due to the lack of adequate medical care, hygienic conditions, psychological pressure, and restrictions on communication with relatives.

Currently, there are at least 11 women in prison, including:

Currently, there are at least 11 women in prison, including:

• Valeria Goldenberg

 • Iryna Gorobtsova

• Iryna Danylovych

 • Galina Dovhopola

• Anna Yeltsova

• Olga Kolkova

• Nina Malakhova

 • Kseniia Svetlishina

• Oksana Sezendzhuk

• Anna Sukhonosova

 • Nina Tymoshenko

Accordingly, there are at least 15 women in pretrial detention centers, including:

• Elvira Aboyazova
• Olga Behei
• Khatidze Buyukchan
• Elena Voynarovska

• Larisa Hayday

• Lera Dzhemilova

•  Tatiana Dyakunovskaya

• Niyara Ersmambetova

• Liudmyla Kolesnikova

• Olga Kravchuk

• Tatiana Malyar

 • Tatiana Pavlenko

• Evgeniya Samoilova

 • Olga Tsirik

• Oksana Shevchenko

After Russia’s occupation of Crimea in 2014, hundreds of activists were subjected to repression for their civic stance. At first, these were mainly men. However, the Russian authorities subsequently began to persecute women as well—activists, journalists, mothers, and wives of political prisoners.

The Crimean Tatar Resource Center notes that women in occupied Crimea are systematically subjected to pressure, humiliation, administrative and criminal persecution. There are known cases of violence, disappearances, and deaths as a result of denial of medical care.

We demand that the Russian Federation immediately release all women detained for political reasons and stop the systematic violations of women’s rights in occupied Crimea.  We urge all concerned individuals to share this information!