Sanctions for protestors, CSOs persecuted and journalists arrested

Association

Muslim communities or organisations are persecuted in Crimea

In April, the Crimean Human Rights Group recorded three new administrative proceedings under Art. 5.26 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, two of them concerning the Muslim community from Alushta and its imam Yusuf Ashirov. At the end of March 2021, imam Ashirov was accused of conducting Friday prayers. At the same time, his community was charged with having religious literature in the mosque. During the investigation, the police explained that the Muslim community Alushta was also checked if its activity is following the federal legislation on freedom of conscience and religious associations, on countering extremist movements and terrorism, land and other legislation.

On April 8, a warning against the Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith Pentecostals "Love of Christ" - illegal missionary activity for posting on a social network describing the organization's activities. The authorities also initiated administrative proceedings under the same article against the Church of Christians' Bread of Life, a religious organization of Evangelical Faith from Kerch, Crimea. According to the Crimean Human Rights Group representatives, such actions of the Russian authorities unreasonably restrict the freedom of conscience and religion. In their opinion, almost all religious organizations were harassed, banned, and persecuted. Exception, in this case, is the Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Peaceful Assembly

Sanctions for protesters setting fire to President Office

On March 20, 2021, more people held a rally in support of Serhiy Sternenko (sentenced to 7 years of prison for fatally wounding one of his two assailants) near the President's Office building. Its participants threw fireworks into the building and set fire to the "President of Ukraine" sign. The Pechersk District Court of Kyiv has chosen a precautionary measure for David Gadzhimuradov and Artem Lysovets, March 20 rally. The court sent them under 24-hour house arrest.

According to the prosecutor's office, they were involved in action trying to set fire to a plaque reading "President of Ukraine" during the protests. The suspect's lawyer said no evidence in the case file that the suspect could hide. David Gadzhimuradov himself stated that he was not in any organization and decided to come to the action independently. According to the lawyer, Lisovets is also suspected of setting fire to a plaque reading "President of Ukraine.". On the same day, Serhiy Filimonov, an activist and leader of the Honor movement, was banned from participating in other actions. He was one of the organizers of a protest rally supporting Serhiy Sternenko outside the President's Office on March 20. His defenders asked for the judge's dismissal but were denied. Meetings on the choice of the precautionary measure were postponed to April 1 at 4:30 p.m. The activist was charged under the fourth part of Article 296 on hooliganism.

The sanction provides for imprisonment for a term of 3 to 7 years. Militiamen reported Filimonov's suspicion on March 24 to the veteran of anti-terrorist operation, the writer and the publisher Vladislav Stafiychuk. He was sent under 24-hour house arrest. The next day, the court sent Yevhen Strokan under 24-hour house arrest, and on March 29, Roman Ratushny, leader of the Let's Protect Protasiv Yar initiative. After the protest, Sergei Filimonov, Oleksiy Bilkovsky and David Hajimuradov were handed over on suspicion of hooliganism. Another three people received administrative protocols. The Cabinet of Ministers condemned the illegal actions committed under the Office of the President of Ukraine on March 20. It expects the relevant legal assessment from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Security Service of Ukraine. At the same time, members of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine strongly condemned the vandalism and abuse of state symbols during protests.

Socio-economic protests in Kiev

In May, several socio-economic protests took place in Ukraine, referring to wage debts and other material benefits available for various sectors of the economy or public services. Thus, on May 13, 2021, in Kyiv, ambulance drivers protested, demanding pay raises in the same proportion with other medical employees. They argued that the level of exposure to the new type of Coronavirus infection is similar as in the case of doctors. Moreover, these salary increases have not been paid since March 2020. The ambulance drivers were joined by the Kyiv Metropolitan (Kyiv subway) employees and other employees of the transport system. They demanded fair wages for all public transport employees.

Another protest movement this time for the extractive industry, which has taken place several times in recent months, was temporarily stopped on May 12. For the workers in this industry the pledge to pay their salary arrears was made. The decision to suspend the manifestation was taken after several rounds of negotiations with the authorities. On May 11, the Ukrainian energy minister promised to the miners' union representatives that sufficient resources would be transferred to the company's accounts to cover the debts and asked them to postpone the protests until May 17.

Expression

Commemoration of the Crimean Tatars deportation banned in peninsula

The commemoration of the Crimean Tatars deportation was banned for the seventh year in a row on the peninsula annexed by the Russian Federation in March 2014. Crimean Tatars and a few other ethnic minorities from the North Caucasus, Soviet Union, were deported in 1944 in Siberia. Joseph Stalin was the initiator of this decision with the aim to exterminate these minorities. In 2015 the Ukrainian Parliament recognized the deportation of 1944 as genocide.

Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group has reported that in 2021 the commemorative events of those historical events have been banned. Only a few commemorative actions took place in Simferopol city, but under the surveillance of the police. Moreover, many of the hearings for cases illegally filed against Tatar activists in the annexed peninsula have been set for May 18 - the day of commemoration, marked every year in Ukraine, not just in Crimea. The same source reports that there are more than 80 political prisoners in Russian prisons, Crimean Tatars.

Crimean journalist fined with 30.000 rubles for not collaborating with Russian Federal Security Service

Aider Kadyrov, a Crimean Solidarity and Grani.ru journalist writing about armed arrests and political trials in Crimea, has been sentenced to pay a 30.000 rubles fine in Russian-occupied Crimea. He was accused of failing to report to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) the person with whom he had chatted on a social media page six years ago. Kadyrov stated in the Courtroom that the charges were politically motivated. He added that the investigative measures from 2020, when he was detained, aimed at intimidating him and the Tatars community.

As reported by KHPG, the FSB turned up at the homes of four Crimean Tatars on 31 August 2020, detaining Aider Kadyrov, Enver Topchi, Aider Ablyakimov and Ridvan Umerov for interrogation. Few of them needed medication, as they were suffering from different health issues. Detention and other ways of intimidation became standard measures taken by Russian authorities in Crimea, with the aim to obtain support for decisions or for confessions in different cases against persons who still disagree with the annexation. The detention of the journalist was in connection with a discussion he had back in 2015 with a man in Vkontakte (Russian social media) who encouraged Aider Kadyrov to take part on the side of the Islamic State in Iraq. The journalist refused the proposal without denouncing him to the security service. According to KHPG, the conversation took place one year before the amendments to Russia’s legislation on ‘terrorism’ or ‘extremism’. Nowadays, the legal framework establishes criminal liability for failure to denounce somebody to the FSB.

Osman Arifmemetov, accused of having prohibited books, faces a 15-years prison sentence

Since 27 March 2019, Osman Arifmemetov, a 35-year-old Crimean Solidarity civic journalist, has been imprisoned by the Russian security service. He faces a 15-years prison sentence. According to KHPG, he was accused of having prohibited books, which FSB-loyal' experts' have claimed 'prove' that the men are involved in Hizb-ut-Tahrir - the well-known case in which they are engaged more than 20 persons detained in the annexed peninsula. Hizb-ut-Tahrir is a pan-Islamist movement, legal under the Ukrainian territory. In 2003 Russia's Supreme Court declared the organization a terrorist one. The 'Hizb-ut-Tahrir cases' is discussed in occupied Crimea since 2015, a year after the annexation, and involve especially Tatar civic activists accused of terrorism, who were recognized later as political prisoners.

In the Osman Arifmemetov case appeared a recording of a witness who allegedly uttered Hizb-ut-Tahrir's name during a discussion with him. The prosecutor used the recording to connect him and the organization declared to be a terrorist. Osman Arifmemtov is forbidden to communicate about other detainees in the same case, but his testimonies in prison have been appreciated outside Ukraine with literary prizes. His prison reports are seen as evidence of how the 25 members are accused illegally and are being pressured to declare things they never were involved in.