Russia illegally detains at least 180 Kremlin prisoners

Russia illegally detains at least 180 Kremlin prisoners

According to the Mission of the President of Ukraine in ARC, this is the number of detained Ukrainian citizens illegally held by Russians in the temporarily occupied Crimea or taken to the peninsula.  Forty are arrested, another 125 are imprisoned, and 18 have no procedural status. About 60% of the illegally detained are Crimean Tatars.  

In addition, Russians illegally detain Ukrainians in other temporarily occupied regions. However, there is less public information about their fates, as Russia denies the facts of these illegal arrests.

1. The occupation court extended the term of illegal detention of Oleksandr Zarivnyi, a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war, until May 

Zarivnyi is known to have been held by Russians in a mental hospital allegedly for an "examination" — the Crimean Human Rights Group. 

After his return from the "hospital", the occupation Kyiv District Court of Simferopol extended his sentence until the end of May. 

In March, Zarivnyi was kidnapped from the temporarily occupied Oleshky, held in Kherson for four weeks, and then taken to the temporarily occupied Simferopol.

Before the full-scale invasion, the man headed the Oleshky district veterans' union. In 2015, he participated in the Russian-Ukrainian war as part of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade.

1. The occupation court extended the term of illegal detention of Oleksandr Zarivnyi, a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war, until May 

Zarivnyi is known to have been held by Russians in a mental hospital allegedly for an "examination" — the Crimean Human Rights Group

After his return from the "hospital", the occupation Kyiv District Court of Simferopol extended his sentence until the end of May. 

Photo: investigator.org.ua

In March, Zarivnyi was kidnapped from the temporarily occupied Oleshky, held in Kherson for four weeks, and then taken to the temporarily occupied Simferopol.

Before the full-scale invasion, the man headed the Oleshky district veterans' union. In 2015, he participated in the Russian-Ukrainian war as part of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade.

2. On February 27, the occupation forces illegally detained two residents of the temporarily occupied Sevastopol, "accusing" them of cooperating with Ukrainian special services

At least one of the detainees was a citizen of Ukraine — the statement of propaganda resources. 

 The identities of the illegally detained remain unknown, but one man is reported to be about 28 years old, and the other is 44. 

The video published by the Russians shows that the older illegally detained man has a Ukrainian passport.

3. On February 28, occupation forces came with illegal searches to the house of Crimean Tatar Soin Dzhemilov

They were looking for his son Abdullah allegedly because he was involved in damaging the railway in the temporarily occupied Crimea - Crimean Solidarity.

Photo: Crimean Solidarity

They did not find Abdullah, and his family was unaware of the reason for the search. 

On February 24, the Atesh guerrilla movement claimed responsibility for damaging the railroad in the temporarily occupied Crimea. They claim to have damaged the railroad near the village of Poshtove.

4.  The health condition of Kremlin prisoner Zevri Abseitov has deteriorated 

He has been behind bars for seven years. The illegally detained man complains of high blood pressure and stomach, kidney and joint pain.

Photo: Crimean Solidarity

This was reported to Crimean Solidarity by Abseitov's wife, who visited him in the colony. 

In addition, there were lumps of unknown origin in his abdomen.

He was detained in 2016 in the so-called first "Bakhchysarai Hizb-ut-Tahrir case". In 2018, a Russian court handed down a "verdict" of almost nine years of illegal detention.