Statement against persecution of human rights defenders in the occupied Crimea

On 30 May 2019 two Crimean Tatar activists Lutfie Zudieva and Mumine Salieva were detained by the Russian enforcement agents (Center for Combating Extremism) in the occupied Crimea. Lutfie Zudieva was apprehended on her way home from the market, while Mumine Salieva was approached by security forces at her home.

Lutfie Zudieva is accused of propaganda or public display of extremist organizations under Article 20.3 of the Russian Federation Code of Administrative Offences. The charges against Mumine Salieva are still unknown.

The lawyers were denied access to Crimean Tatar activists.

Trial hearings will took place at the de facto Kiev district court of Simferopol.

We strongly condemn persecution of lawyers and human rights defenders in the occupied Crimea and demand that the Russian Federation government immediately cease unlawful suppression and obstruction of lawyer work and human rights activities, as well as the use of Russia’s “anti-extremism and anti-terrorism” legislation in the occupied territory, in violation of international humanitarian law, for persecuting people for their public, legal and human rights activities.

We ask international organizations and governments of democratic states:

• To continue putting pressure on the Russian government to put a stop to the persecution of Crimean Solidarity activists and obstruction of the work of independent lawyers in the occupied Crimea.
• To condemn the use by Russia of its own “anti-terrorism and anti-extremism” legislation for prosecuting lawyers, human rights defenders and civil society activists in the occupied Crimea.
• To impose personal sanctions on persons involved in gross violations of human rights in the occupied Crimea, as well as on those directly involved in the obstruction of lawyer work and persecution of the Crimean Solidarity.
• To strengthen sectoral sanctions against the Russian Federation for systematic gross violations of human rights and war crimes in the occupied Crimea.

Detailed information:

Lutfie Zudieva is a director of the children center “Elif” and an activist. She has also been a civic defender within the judicial process over the single piquet participants, taking place on December 18, 2017.

Mumine Salieva, a wife of political prisoner Seiran Saliev, is a human rights activist and founder of ‘Crimean Childhood’ – initiative aimed at providing assistance to children in the occupied Crimea. She is also an active participant of Crimean Solidarity movement. Its goal is to help all the political prisoners of Kremlin regime suffering from injustice within Crimea. In frames of their activity, members of Crimean Solidarity provide legal, financial and moral assistance to the victims and their relatives.

On 27 October 2018, representatives of the Crimean occupying authorities stormed a monthly meeting of the Crimean Solidarity NGO and handed a notice regarding so-called violation of anti-extremism and anti-terrorism law to some participants.

On 27 March 2019 a large number of Crimean Solidarity activists were detained by the FSB officers. They are accused of participating in/organising Hizb ut-Tahrir religious group banned as extremist one by the Russian Federation.

Association of Relatives of Political Prisoners of the Kremlin

• Center for Civil Liberties
• Crimean Human Rights Group
• CrimeaSOS Public Organisation
• Human Rights Center ZMINA
• Human Rights Information Centre
• Media Initiative for Human Rights
• Regional Center for Human Rights
• Ukrainian Institute for Human Rights
• Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union