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Crimea: Breaking the Wall of Silence The Barys Zvozskau Crimean Belarusian Human Rights House CRIMEA: BREAKING THE WALL OF SILENCE November 2018 Human rights mission to Crimea by three Human Rights Houses. humanrightshouse.org Support from outside of Crimea is very important. For those behind bars, when they receive letters, when they know that outside someone is speaking about their cases and drawing the attention of the inter- national community to what is hap- pening here, when someone comes to Crimea to listen to their stories – all of that is extremely important. This is not a way to live, but it is a way to resist. LAWYER Defending political prisoners in Crimea. Crimea SEPT 2018 Cover photo: Meryem Kuku. Photo: Human Rights Information Center. This photo: The mission travels through Crimea. Photo: Human Rights Information Center. CRIMEA: BREAKING THE WALL OF SILENCE ABOUT THIS REPORT The Human Rights Houses Mission to Creative Commons licence, Human Crimea from 14-18 September 2018 and Rights Information Center (Kyiv, this report were coordinated by Human Ukraine), Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Rights Information Center, member of Human Rights House (Vilnius, Lithuania), Crimean Human Rights House. Human Rights House Azerbaijan (Baku, Azerbaijan), Educational Human Rights This project was realised by the Barys House Chernihiv (Chernihiv, Ukraine), Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights Crimean Human Rights House (Kyiv, House, Human Rights House Azerbaijan, Ukraine), November 2018. Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv (Ukraine), and Crimean This work is licensed under a Creative Human Rights House (Ukraine). Commons Attribution-Non Commer- cial-No Derivs 3.0 Unported License. The Mission and the report were made possible with the support of Human One is free to quote, copy, distribute and Rights House Foundation (HRHF) and display this work and to make derivate People in Need (PIN). works, provided: HRHF would like to offer its sincere 1. One gives credit to the authors. thanks to its donors and supporters, 2. One does not use this work for com- specifically the Norwegian MFA and the mercial purposes. Swiss FDFA. Support from: humanrightshouse.org 4 CRIMEA: BREAKING THE WALL OF SILENCE CONTENTS 06 Mission by three Human Rights Houses 31 Case Study: Volodymyr Balukh 06 A “grey zone” with no human rights protection 07 Giving a voice to Crimeans 32 Case Study: Emir-Usein Kuku 08 Documenting the human rights situation first-hand 34 Access to Crimea 08 Mission by experienced human rights organisations 34 The Mission’s travel 08 Findings based on first-hand accounts 34 Ukraine complicates access 35 Russian Federation controls access 09 Human rights of Crimeans continue to be violated and creates considerable obstacles 09 Discrimination and persecution on ethnic grounds 09 Pattern of systemic violations 36 International legal framework 09 Wall of silence 10 Time to act 10 Recommendations to the Russian Federation 11 Recommendations to Ukraine 11 Recommendations to the international community 13 Human rights in Crimea: four years of occupation 13 From occupation to consolidated control 14 Atmosphere of fear and distrust 14 A framework of repression: Application of Russian Federation laws and the impact on human rights in Crimea 14 Curtailment of human rights and fundamental freedoms 15 Abuse of extremism laws 16 Freedom of expression, assembly and association: Findings of the mission 16 Stifling freedom of expression 18 Restrictions on freedom of assembly 19 Pressure on civil society and human rights defenders 21 Targeting of Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians 24 The “conveyor belt”: Role of the judiciary as a mechanism of repression 24 Rule of law is virtually nonexistent 24 Violation of right to a fair trial 26 Appalling detention conditions 26 Families of political prisoners face hardship 27 Creating a climate of fear 27 Repression is growing 29 Transfer of populations and deportations 5 humanrightshouse.org CRIMEA: BREAKING THE WALL OF SILENCE MISSION BY THREE HUMAN RIGHTS HOUSES Aiming to break the wall of silence and human rights situation in Crimea in its sive human rights violations against the document first-hand the human rights quarterly reports. Despite the UN Mis- population. situation in Crimea, representatives of sion’s numerous attempts, the Russian Within the “grey zone” of the peninsula, Human Rights Houses visited the occu- Federation has consistently denied it the people of Crimea do not have pied Autonomous Republic of Crimea access to the peninsula. The UN Mission access to any mechanisms of human and the city of Sevastopol (hereinafter therefore monitors the situation in rights protection, leaving them at referred to as “Crimea”) from 14-18 Crimea from the mainland. the mercy of the Russian Federation September 2018. government, which can violate their This was an opportunity for an in- The Russian Federation has also denied human rights with total impunity. ternational human rights mission to the UN Mission access to prepare two collect on-the-ground information and dedicated reports on the human rights People spoke of feeling abandoned and document the human rights situation on situation in Crimea, as mandated by the forgotten in numerous discussions with the peninsula. General Assembly in its resolutions 71/ the Human Rights Houses Mission. and 72/190. This denial disregards the It is therefore important to reinforce A “grey zone” with no General Assembly’s call for the Russian the scrutiny and attention given to the human rights protection Federation to “ensure the proper and human rights situation in Crimea, and unimpeded access of international to encourage journalists and missions Four and a half years have passed human rights monitoring missions and by international human rights defenders since the Russian Federation occupied human rights non-governmental organi- to travel to Crimea to document the Crimea in 2014. Over this time, the sations to Crimea”. violations that are occurring, and to peninsula has become a “grey zone” for strengthen advocacy campaigns at human rights, subjected to the rule of There is no “new normal” life in Crimea, national and international levels. Within the Russian Federation and practically despite attempts by the occupying this context, access to the peninsula is inaccessible to independent interna- power to convey such appearances to of primary importance, and conditions tional scrutiny. At the same time, the the outside world. The occupation of the should be eased to allow such visits to information that does leak out – primar- peninsula builds on a system of repres- take place. ily thanks to modern information tech- sion and maintains a climate of fear, in nology – indicates that the human rights which anyone perceived as an opponent “Support from outside of Crimea is very situation remains dire and that serious is persecuted. Specifically, Crimean Ta- important. For those behind bars, when violations continue to take place. During tars, Ukrainians, civic activists, lawyers, they receive letters, when they know this time, the majority of the human journalists, bloggers, and members of that outside someone is speaking about rights community in Crimea has had to religious communities are targeted, and their cases and drawing the attention of leave the peninsula due to persecution any attempts at dissent or criticism of the international community to what is and threats, and those who still work on official policies are deterred, supressed, happening here, when someone comes human rights run grave risks of perse- and silenced. to Crimea to listen to their stories – all cution and are forced to work under the of that is extremely important. This surface. Ever since the first arrests made by the is not a way to live, but it is a way to Russian authorities in 2014, the number resist,” said a lawyer defending political The international community has not of political prisoners has been constant- prisoners in Crimea. recognised the March 2014 unlawful ly increasing: at least 68 Ukrainians referendum on the status of Crimea, or- are now imprisoned in Crimea and ganised under the control of the Russian the Russian Federation in fabricated/ military, nor the subsequent annexation falsified cases. This situation is exacer- of Crimea by the Russian Federation. bated by concerted efforts to seal off the The UN Human Rights Monitoring peninsula and prevent Ukrainian and Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) has been international human rights monitors, operating in Ukraine since March 2014, journalists, and others from traveling to and provides regular updates on the Crimea, reinforcing impunity for perva- humanrightshouse.org 6 CRIMEA: BREAKING THE WALL OF SILENCE Giving a voice to Crimeans The visit by the monitoring Mission brought together five experienced hu- man rights defenders from three Human Rights Houses. It has contributed to ensuring that the facts on the ground are known, and has helped to give a voice to the Crimean people. During the four days spent in Crimea, the members of the Mission spoke to more than 50 people, including victims of human rights violations and their relatives, mothers and wives of political prisoners, and journalists, lawyers, and civic activists. Mission participants spoke to people who lived in Crimea prior to the occupation and did not Mission members Tatsiana Reviaka (Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House) and leave, as well as to people who moved Kyrylo Yekymov (Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv), with Shevket Kaybullaev (editor of from Russia to Crimea after the occupa- Avdet newspaper). Photo: Human Rights Information Center. tion. They spoke to people with different political opinions and convictions, and different political positions, including both people who had been against the occupation and people who had been in favour. All spoke of a climate of fear. The primary focus of the Mission was to examine and document the situation for human rights defenders and the effects of restrictions on the freedoms of ex- pression, assembly and association. Yet, in the course of interviews conducted by the Mission, information was received concerning a wide range of other human rights violations.
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