Editor’s Note: These are just some of the 257 documented cases of Russia’s occupation authorities oppressing pro-Ukrainian citizens of Crimea and Crimean Tatars. See here for the full story.
Reshat Ametov
Reshat Ametov, a Crimean Tatar activist, approached the building of the Crimean Council of Ministers in Simferopol on March 3, 2014 to carry out a one-man peaceful protest against the Russian occupation of Crimea. He was abducted by three men in military uniform from a Crimean self-defense militia. Ametov’s body was later found by police in a forest about 60 kilometers east of Simferopol. The body bore numerous signs of torture, and death was caused by a knife wound that penetrated an eye socket. Ametov’s three children, wife and parents remain in Crimea. There have been at least eight more unsolved murders committed since the annexation of Crimea.
Oleh Sentsov and others
Crimean Tatar Gennadii Afanasiev, Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, and civil activists Oleksandr Kolchenko and Oleksiy Chernyi were arrested in May 2014. They were accused of being members of, or having links to the “Right Sector terrorist organization” and plotting terror attacks in Crimea. Right Sector, as well as the arrested men, denied having any connections. They were sentenced to from seven to 20 years in prison and hard labor. Ukrainian and Western human rights organization describe the cases as politically motivated and have urged Russia to release the prisoners. Afanasiev returned to Ukraine on June 14 after Russian President Vladimir Putin pardoned him.
Mass roundups of Crimean Tatars
A group of armed, masked men detained 35 customers at the Bahdad Café in the village of Pionerske near Simferopol on April 1. All of the detained people were Crimean Tatars. Those with Slavic features were released immediately. The armed men took the detained people to a center for combating extremism, took their fingerprints, saliva for the DNA analysis, and released them after four hours. Employees of the Russia’s Federal Security Service and of the center for combating extremism also conducted several dozen searches of mosques and Muslim schools. Many Islamic books were banned in Crimea after Russia’s invasion and occupation.
Prison for protesters
At least eight Crimean Tatars have been groundlessly accused of organizing and participating in mass riots on Feb 26, 2014. Thousands of pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian activists on that day rallied near the Crimean Parliament, and two people died after being crushed in the crowd. Russian law enforcement bodies described the rally as a mass riot, and accused pro-Ukrainian citizens of provoking violence. Two people have already been found guilty, and have been given suspended prison sentences. Ahtem Chyigoz, the deputy head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, the Crimean Tatar parliament, could face 10 years in prison if found guilty.
False charges of ‘terrorism’
At least 14 Crimean Tatars have been detained in the ongoing Hizb ut-Tahrir criminal case. Hizb ut-Tahrir is an Islamic political organization that Russia has declared a terrorist organization. Neither Ukraine nor any other European countries have recognized the organization as having any links to terrorism. In connection with the case, Russian special forces have conducted a series of searches of Crimean Tatars’ houses. The participants of the case are accused of organizing and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization. If found guilty, most will face from 10 to 20 years in prison, while one of the accused faces charges that could lead to a life sentence.
Source: Crimea SOS, Ukrainian non-governmental organization
