Six months later curtailment of rights and freedoms in Crimea

Page 1

Brief analysis of human rights in Crimea during March-September 2014 The Crimean Field Mission on Human Rights (hereafter – the “CFM”) was created on 5 March 2014 with a view to uniting those who, irrespective of political views, are ready to act for the protection of human rights on the Crimean peninsula. CFM, which is present on the peninsula in the field, monitors the situation with human rights, takes action to maintain rule of law and provides support to various initiatives in the human rights realm. CFM has offices in Simferopol, Kyiv, Moscow and Saint-Petersburg. They collect, analyze and disseminate information about Crimea among state authorities, civil society sector, media and international organizations. They also stimulate synergies between human rights groups of Ukraine, Russia and other countries. CFM representatives set foot in Crimea since the very first days of the conflict. They observed the actions of various armed groups during the preparation of the so-called “referendum” of 16 March. During this period, CFM has spotted various armed groups with no identification. Some of these groups admitted to being Russian military. Andriy Yurov, CFM Head, was the first to say that there were no proved instances of human rights violations (especially murders) vis-à-vis Russian-speaking population of Crimea and that the decision of the Federation Council of Russia permitting deployment of armed forces for protection of such citizens was based on misleading information and wrong prerequisites. In the six months of work (March-September 2014), CFM has been able to single out the following systematic problems with human rights on the peninsula. Forced disappearances of pro-Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar activists, many of whom were subjected to tortures and ill-treatment. Thus, the body of Reshat Ametov, who had participated in an anti-Russian rally, was found two weeks after the event with clear trace of torture. There is still no information about Ukrainian activists (Tymur Shaymardanov, Seiran Zynedinov, Leonid Korzh) who disappeared in May. The fate of Sevastopol resident Vasyl Chernysh – Automaidan activist who went missing in May – is also unclear. The situation is aggravated by ineffective actions of Crimean authorities and law enforcement agencies aimed at investigation of the above-mentioned episodes. Use of military units ("self-defense") for maintenance of public order, search of personal belongings in trains and at railway stations. During these activities, representatives of Crimean “self-defense” regularly violated the rights of citizens, often accompanied their activities not only with insults and threats, but with arbitrary detentions, torture, seizure and damage of property, battery, including that of the media representatives. Activities of Crimean “self-defense” are an instrument of intimidation and one of the main sources of human rights violations in Crimea. The legalization of their activities by the Law on “People’s Volunteer Corps – Volunteer Public Order Squads of the Republic of Crimea” will probably only aggravate the situation. Pressure on media and prosecution of journalists became another systematic human rights


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.