Administrative proceedings were opened against more than 350 people in Crimea for peaceful assemblies

From April 2014 to September 2018, Russian authorities in Crimea have opened administrative proceedings against 353 people, thereby significantly hindering the freedom of peaceful assembly across the peninsula.

According to the Crimean Human Rights Group, criminal charges were brought against 12 people.

One of these cases, the ‘February 26 case’, resulted in eight convictions: 8 years in a strict-regime prison for Ahtem Chiygoz (who was later released as a result of political negotiations) and seven suspended sentences, as stated in the report.

Crimean ‘judges’ have also confirmed the opening of administrative proceedings against 367 people, resulting in 334 fines worth 3.95 million rubles (almost 1.7 million hryvnia – KR)

“Administrative detention and community service sentences (22 and 11 rulings, respectively) were also imposed on people who attended peaceful assemblies,” the human rights group states.

In September, Russian security forces conducted five searches in annexed Crimea and opened administrative proceedings against seven Crimean Tatars; the courts fined them 2,000 rubles and sentenced them to a total of 27 days of administrative detention.

At the 39th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Refat Chubarov, the head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, said that basic freedoms, including freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of association, freedom of religion and freedom of movement, are being violated throughout the Crimean peninsula.