Russia illegally detains at least 181 Kremlin prisoners

Russia illegally detains at least 181 Kremlin prisoners

According to the Mission of the President of Ukraine in Autonomous Republic of Crimea, this is the number of Ukrainian citizens illegally detained by Russians in occupied Crimea or taken to the peninsula. 40 of them are arrested, 122 are imprisoned, 18 have no procedural status, and 2 have been released but are still in the centre for the temporary detention of foreign nationals. About 60% of the illegally detained are Qırımtatarlar (Crimean Tatars).

Russians also illegally detain Ukrainians in other occupied regions. However, there is less public information about their fates, as Russia denies these illegal detentions.

1.  On 3 March, occupation security forces come to the house of Crimean Tatar Fazil Emiruseinov with an illegal search — Crimean Solidarity

Emiruseinov attended the hearings of the occupation courts in the cases of other illegally detained Crimean Tatars.

The occupation security forces motivated the search by the fact that Emiruseinov was allegedly involved in damaging the railway near the occupied Bazarçıq (Poshtove). The Ateş military partisan movement claims that this operation was carried out by representatives of the movement.

In a month, the occupation forces have already conducted about two dozen illegal searches in connection with this case.

2. Russian court rejects an appeal against the illegal court verdict in the case of Vadym Bektemirov — Crimean Solidarity

Earlier, a Russian court sentenced him to 11 years in prison on falsified charges.

The occupation security forces illegally detained Bektemirov in 2020 along with five other residents of occupied Crimea.

Charges of "terrorist activities" were fabricated against him. For this, they used an audio recording made by a Russian undercover agent, with whom Bektemirov spoke about Islam.

 In 2022, an illegal court of first instance passed an illegal sentence of 11 years in prison.

3. The occupation court sends a resident of the village of Pionerske (Colman) in occupied Crimea to prison for 10 years on falsified charges of sabotage — Russian propaganda resources

The occupation security forces claim that the man allegedly tried to set fire to a military commissariat and blow up the railway.

The identity of the illegally detained person has not been disclosed, but the details of the case match the data of the Russian court register on the citizen of Ukraine Ihor Kupych.

Kupych was detained in June 2022.

4.  Occupation security forces illegally detain a pensioner in occupied Sevastopol (Aqyar)

They falsified charges against the woman for creating pro-Ukrainian graffiti.

The occupation security forces reported this.

They claim that the woman allegedly painted graffiti "Sevastopol is Ukraine" at night, took pictures of them, and sent them to her daughter.

Telegram channels affiliated with the occupation administrations posted a video in which the detainee says that her graffiti was published on the resources of the Yellow Ribbon movement.

The occupation security forces brought unlawful charges of 'vandalism' against the pensioner, who now faces three years in prison.