Editor’s Note: Anastasiia Donets and Ievgenii Iaroshenko are analysts at CrimeaSOS, a non-profit organization that monitors human rights violations in Crimea and advocates for the end of Russia’s occupation of the peninsula.
Over the years of occupation, Crimea has become a territory that faces one of the most serious deteriorations of the freedom of speech in the world. This year, according to Freedom House, Crimea received 7 out of 100 points in a global freedom statuses rating. Occupied Crimea has even less freedom than Russia (20 points), and far less than government-controlled areas of Ukraine (60 points).
After the beginning of the occupation, occupied Crimea inherited all of the problems from Russia: strict censorship in media and the Internet, intimidation, and imprisonment of activists and journalists, restrictions of peaceful public protests, and other features of authoritarian regimes. Russian state and occupying authorities surrounded Crimea with an informational curtain that divides Crimea from the rest of the world, much like the Iron Curtain did during the Cold War.
Blocking the all-Ukrainian media
Blocking all-Ukrainian media was among the first steps taken by the occupying authorities in Crimea. They captured blocked Ukrainian closed-circuit and digital television, captured the FM waves of the Ukrainian radio stations and passed them to the Russian media. According to a monitoring by the Crimean Human Rights Group, Crimean Internet-providers block the websites of 22 Ukrainian media and the Ukrainian Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories. As a result, Ukrainian citizens in Crimea could hardly get impartial and unrestricted information about developments in Ukraine, including decisions having a direct impact on their lives.
Restrictions of local media
The majority of Crimean media could not survive the media policy imposed by the occupying authorities. According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, during the first year of occupation, the number of local Crimea media reduced from about 3,000 to 232. In most cases, the Russian Roskomnadzor (Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media) has rejected the applications for registration of most Crimean media.
Some media which successfully managed to finish the whole bureaucratic procedure of registration mostly avoid publishing any information materials that criticize Russian occupying authorities. Few media, including Crimean Tatar TV Channel “ATR”, were forced to leave the territory of Crimea and now operate in mainland Ukraine.
Criminal persecution of journalists
Under Russia’s occupation, independent journalists and bloggers have become victims of political persecution. According to data by CrimeaSOS, out of 102 persons currently imprisoned on political grounds in Crimea, 11 people are professional or civic journalists. The below mentioned widespread and systemic attacks on Crimean journalists give grounds to consider such cases as crimes against humanity.
On March 10, 2021, FSB arrested a Ukrainian journalist a freelance reporter for Radio Liberty, Vladyslav Yesypenko. For the next two days, FSB officers tortured Yesypenko with electrocution. They threatened to hang him in a cell unless he admits his alleged guilt of espionage in favor of Ukrainian intelligence. According to the prosecution, Vladyslav “conducted photo- and video recording of the area, objects of critical infrastructure and places of mass gatherings in Crimea.” He was later accused of alleged manufacture of ammunition and keeping of weapons. Yesypenko worked for Krym.Realii (a project by Radio Liberty) and regularly visited Crimea. He did record places of mass gatherings and interviewed Crimeans about their daily life. This kind of information appeared in his last report before the detention. At this moment, Vladyslav is in the Simferopol detention center and is facing a sentence of 6 years in prison.
On Nov. 9, 2016, FSB arrested Oleksii Bessarabov and Dmytro Shtyblikov in Sevastopol. Both worked as experts of the analytical center “Nomos”, were editors of the magazine “Black Sea Security” and published articles in various Ukrainian media. Russian security bodies accused them of an alleged preparation for subversions. Bessarabov was tortured with electrocution. In addition, FSB published a video that shows Shtyblikov, who admits all the charges against him. His relatives, however, believe that this statement was made under torture. Dmytro Shtyblikov was sentenced to 5 years in prison. Oleksii Bessarabov was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Eight persons out of 74 political prisoners in the “Hizb ut-Tahrir cases” are civic journalists. Hizb ut-Tahrir is legal in Ukraine and most countries in the world, but Russia recognizes it as a terrorist organization. “Civic journalism is a natural reaction to the informational vacuum created as a result of an open and targeted fight of the Russian government against professional journalism since 2014,” – says a human rights activist of “Crimean Solidarity” Lutfie Zudieva. In a situation of informational isolation and regular repressions, they stream information on searches and court hearings in respect of political prisoners. Marlen Asanov, a civic activist and owner of a Crimean Tatar restaurant in Bakhchysarai, was sentenced to 19 years in prison, Tymur Ibrahimov – 17 years, Seiran Saliiev – 16 years, Server Mustafaiev – 14 years. Ruslan Suleimanov, Rustem Sheikhaliiev, and Osman Arifmemetov are facing a sentence of up to 20 years, a reporter for Grani.ru Remzi Bekirov even risks life imprisonment for allegedly “organizing the activities of a terrorist organization.” Server Mustafaiev wrote a diary about his life in prison which was published by CrimeaSOS. Osman Arifmemetov also wrote a monologue titled “My deportation,” where he talks about tortures that he and his fellows, Sheikhaliiev and Bekirov, suffered during the arrest.
Two more civic journalists, facing political persecution, remain outside of detention facilities. An online streamer of “Crimean Solidarity” Amet Suleimanov, detained for an alleged connection to Hizb ut-Tahrir, remains under home arrest. One more activist and a reporter for Grani.ru, Aider Kadyrov, was fined 30,000 Russian rubles for an alleged failure to inform about a crime. The very fact of the crime has not even been proven yet.
At least four Crimean journalists managed to avoid detention because they left Crimea. Those are the editor-in-chief of BlackSeaNews Andrii Klymenko, journalist of the “Center for Investigative Journalism” Anna Andriievska, journalists of the Crimean Tatar channel “ATR” Hulsum Khalilova, and Seitumer Seitumerov.
There were also a number of people in the past who went through criminal prosecution. Those people are a blogger Yurii Ilchenko, a cameraman of “ATR” Channel Eskander Nebiiev, and a civic journalist of “Crimean Solidarity” Nariman Memedeminov. A journalist of Krym.Realii project by Radio Liberty Mykola Semena was sentenced to 2.5 years of suspended imprisonment. He was punished for a critical article related to the occupation of Crimea.
Restriction of entry for Ukrainian journalists
The occupying authorities also practice alternative pressure on independent journalists in the form of entry bans to Crimea. Between 2018 and 2020, three journalists cooperating with Krym.Realii (project by Radio Liberty), Alina Smutko, Aliona Savchuk and Taras Ibrahimov were denied entry the peninsula, with the multiyear ban.
Persecution of protesters
Almost anyone who expresses disagreement with the occupying authorities and participates in protests (collective or solitary) faces administrative pressure or persecution. For example, law enforcement bodies came to houses of protestors who stood against construction in Foros park and even recorded a video address to Vladimir Putin. Those protestors had “preventive conversations” with the Russian police. The “court” of Simferopol fined three protestors for the so-called “unsanctioned protest,” which criticized the occupying authorities for failing to supply water to Crimea. In addition, mothers and wives of political prisoners who protest against repressions face administrative persecution.
Warnings against future demonstrations
The occupying authorities try to discourage any mass meetings by sending out warning letters. A number of Crimean activists received letters about the inadmissibility of participating in mass meetings dedicated to the Day of Commemoration of Noman Celebicihan, the anniversary of the deportation of Crimean Tatars, or protests. Prior to mass demonstrations in support of the Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, the “Ministry of education” of Crimea sent out a letter to school headmasters demanding that they prevent school students’ participation in those protests. Meanwhile, teachers in Simferopol schools demanded regular reports from parents saying that their children were “under supervision.” In addition, the so-called “prosecutor’s office” sent a letter to an activist Akhmadzhon Kadyrov stating that a video address by the Crimean Tatar elders in support of political prisoners includes public calls for extremism.
Other regular violations of the freedom of speech, such as searches, damages of equipment, fines for “abuses of the freedom of media”, happen in occupied Crimea all the time. For instance, in April 2021, a Crimean “court” fined the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Qırım Bekir Mamutov for “abusing the freedom of media.” The ground for the administrative case was the fact that Qırım cited a report of the UN Secretary-General where the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People is mentioned. However, Bekirov mentioned the Mejlis without saying that it is an outlawed organization in Russia and Crimea.
To sum up, over seven years of occupation, Crimea appeared behind an informational barrier. On the one hand, Russian occupying authorities persecute any media and journalists who give an alternative view to events in Crimea and the world. On the other hand, occupants have cut Crimea off the Ukrainian informational space. Therefore, Crimeans have no access to objective information from mainland Ukraine.
