Contents tagged with political prisoners
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Bariev: 57 political prisoners are being held in Crimea
There are currently 57 political prisoners in the Russian-annexed Crimea, as reported by the head of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center and member of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Eskender Bariev, during a press conference in Kyiv on November 6th.
He noted that after Russia transferred Ilmi Umerov and Akhtem Chiyhoz, who were imprisoned in the Crimea, to the Republic of Turkey, new arrests were made on the peninsula.
The First Deputy Minister of Information Policy of …
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U.S. calls on Russia to free Ilmi Umerov
The United States of America called on Russia to release Ilmi Umerov, deputy head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People.
“The United States is deeply troubled by the September 27, conviction and two-year prison sentence for Crimean Tatar leader Ilmi Umerov in Russian-occupied Crimea. He was convicted for his opposition to Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea and given a harsher sentence than the Russian occupation prosecutor requested. This compounds past injustices in the case, …
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Russia transfers imprisoned Ukrainian producer Sentsov to penitentiary in far North
The Ukrainian producer, Oleh Sentsov, who was sentenced in Russia to a 20 year imprisonment, is being transferred from Irkutsk to the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, as he indicated in a letter to human rights activist, Zoya Svetova, which was published by Open Russia.
It is noted that the letter was dated September 17th and sent from the remand center (SIZO-1) in Tyumen on September 21st, and it was received on September 29th.
"I'm all right. I'm leaving. I was abruptly taken from Yakutia …
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Court in the annexed Crimea sentences Crimean Tatar leader Akhtem Chiygoz to 8 years
The Kremlin-controlled Supreme Court of annexed Crimea sentenced Akhtem Chiygoz, one of the leaders of the Crimean Tatar people, to 8 years of general regime imprisonment, Krym.Realii reports.
The court made the ruling on September 11, informing Chiygoz’ lawyer Oleksandr Lesovy of the special ruling after multiple delays.
Roughly 100 people came to support Chiygoz in court.
President Petro Poroshenko condemned the sentence, posting on Facebook:
“The Akhtem Chiygoz case is yet another …
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Ukrainian activist Vladimir Balukh gives final word in Crimean court
In his speech, Balukh pointed out that the reason for his imprisonment is not the ammunition which was allegedly found in his possession, but his principled position with respect to the “occupation of his homeland”, reported the Crimean Human Rights Group on their website.
“The origins of this are not at all in some cartridges, not in some substance which the court inexplicably identified as explosive, there is no basis for this at all. The decision has been made to ‘take me out’ since the …
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Russians picket in support of political prisoners
A series of one-man protests in support of Russian political prisoners took place in St. Petersburg with about 10-15 people lining up with posters along Nevsky Prospect, Rosbalt.ru reports.
"The signs demanded the release of political prisoners. We also tried to draw attention to the beginning of new mass political repressions in Russia. This is evidenced by the cases brought against the participants of the protests on March 26 and June 12. These events show that the ‘Bolotnaya Square Case’ is …
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Russia sentences Director of the Library of Ukrainian Literature to four years’ probation
On Monday, the Meshchansky Court in Moscow sentenced Natalia Sharina, the former Director of the Library of Ukrainian Literature.
She was found guilty in a criminal case of extremism and embezzlement and sentenced to a four-year suspended prison sentence, reported Russia’s Interfax news agency.
The prosecutor demanded a 5 year suspended prison sentence for Sharina, who was accused under two articles: 282 of the Russian Criminal Code (incitement of hatred or enmity) and 160 of the Criminal …
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Media: Ukrainian political prisoner dies in Russian jail
Fontanka website reports that Ukrainian citizen Artur Panov, who was accused by the Russian authorities of preparing a terrorist act in Russia, has died of heart failure at a detention center in Rostov.
On February 14, a trial on the case of Arthur Panov began in the North Caucasus Military District Court of Rostov-on-Don. A Rostov student who was charged with assisting with the Ukrainian’s criminal activities also appeared with Panov in the dock.
Panov was detained in early December 2015 in …
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Lithuanian Foreign Minister threatened Belarus with sanctions if they take new political prisoners
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius intimated that Western countries could impose new sanctions against Belarus if political prisoners appear there again. This was his comment on the suppression of protests in Minsk which took place on Saturday, Delfi news portal reports.
According to Linkevičius, such actions would be detrimental to Belarus’s standing in the international community. "This will in fact affect not only internal policy where it might destabilize the situation. It will …
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European Parliament was urged to increase pressure on Moscow to end repression in Crimea
On March 13, human rights activists and relatives of Ukrainian prisoners in Russia urged the European Parliament to increase international pressure on Moscow.
“In authoritarian Russia, getting justice is impossible. The only chance for our relatives to return home and put a stop to the increasing political repression in the annexed Crimea is to increase international pressure on Moscow, which deliberately disregards the principles of international law,” the statement said.
Human rights …