Russia persecuted 202 Crimean Tatars since 2014 for “political reasons,” activists say

Since the Russian occupation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014, 301 individuals, including 202 Crimean Tatars have been persecuted by invaders for "political reasons," the Crimean Tatar Resource Center wrote on Facebook. According to the Center's data, 147 individuals have been convicted and serving sentences in prisons, including 99 Crimean Tatars. In addition, 24 Crimean Tatars are among 35 political prisoners who have been held in pre-trial detention centers. Earlier, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Dunja Mijatović said Crimean Tatars in Crimea, and "especially those opposing Crimea’s illegal annexation or expressing dissent, are being subjected to numerous patterns of serious violations of human rights, persecution, discrimination, and stigmatization by the Russian occupying authorities." While releasing a report on the human rights situation of Crimean Tatars in Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, the commissioner called on Russia to stop the persecution of Crimean Tatars and put an end to "all arbitrary arrests, harassment, and searches of homes of Crimean Tatar human rights defenders, activists, leaders, and journalists, as well as ordinary Crimean Tatars." Related:

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