PRISONERS OF THE KREMLIN, OR THE TEST OF RUSSIA 240 years IN TOTAL ALL PRISONERS HAVE BEEN SENTENCED "Ukrainian Subversives" 1st Wave 2nd Wave 3rd Wave 1,8 3,6 Yevhen Andriy Redwan years Volodymyr Oleksiy Volodymyr Oleksiy year Hlib Panov Zakhtey Suleymanov Prysych Bessarabov Dudka Stohniy Shabliy Cases of Crimean Tatars The Yalta Case Emir-Usain Vadym Enver Muslim Arsen Refat Kuku Siruk Bekirov Aliyev Jepparov Alimov The Tabligi Jamaat Case The Simferopol Case Zevri Rustem Ramsey Enver Teymur Uzeur Aider Emil Rustem Abseitov Abiltarov Memetov Mamutov Abdullaev Abdullaev Saledinov Dzhemedenov Ismailov The Tabligi Jamaat Case The February 26 Case Arsen Renat Taliat Seyran Ali Mustafa Kurbedinov Suleymanov Abdurakhmanov Mustafaev Asanov Dehermanjee The New Bakhchysarai Case Suleiman Timur Server Seyran Memet Ernest Asanov Ibragimov Zekeryaev Saliyev Belyalov Ametov The Journalist’s Case The Activist’s Case The Euromaidan Activists Case 2,6 3,7 9 Mykola years of Volodymyr years Mykola years Semena conditional sentence Balukh Shyptur Cases whose political motivation is being checked Temporarily Occupied Crimea AT LEAST 39 prisoners Hennadiy Dmytro Anna under all-day home arrest Lymeshko Dolhopolov Sukhonosova «Spy Cases» The Crimean Case 11 12 20 10 7 Valentyn years Viktor years Oleh years Oleksandr years Oleksiy years Vyhivskyi Shur Sentsov Kolchenko Chirnyi (Kirovo-Chepetsk) (Brjansk) (Labyntnahi) (Kopeisk) (Unknown whereabouts) «Persecution of Journalists» «The Chechen Case» «Chastisers» Case 22,6 20 8,6 Roman Mykola years Stanislav years Serhiy years Sushchenko Karpyuk Klykh Lytvinov (Moscow) (Vladimir) (Verkhniouralsk) (Bataisk) Spy Case The Sevastopol Case 3 15 5 5 5 Volodymyr years Ruslan years Ferat years Rustem years Nuri years Prysych Zeytullaev Sayfullaev Vaitov Primov (Krasnodar) (Salavat) (Omutninsk) (Kurhan) (Republic of Mari El) "Euromaidanivtsi" New Cases 3,6 10 12 Oleksandr years Andriy years Mykola Oleksiy years Pavlo Oleksandr Kostenko Kolomiets Dadeu Syzonovych Hryb Shumkov (Kirovo-Chepetsk) (Krasnodar Territory) Krasnodar (Rostov-on-Don) (Krasnodar) (Brjansk) Brjansk Moscow Labyntnahi Vladimir Omutninsk Kirovo-Chepetsk Bataisk Republic of Mari El Rostov-on-Don Kopeisk Krasnodar Salavat Kurhan Verkhneuralsk Russia AT LEAST 20 prisoners As of mid-October 2017, at least 58 Ukrainian citizens are being kept under arrest in the territory of Russia and occupied Crimea for political reasons. These are people of different nationalities, During 2017, there have been at least religions, professions and political views. 18 new detentions, which, according to the Journalists, activists, farmers, miners, human rights community, have signs of directors, teachers and students are among political persecution. Such arrests mostly them. Most of them are active in the social take place in Crimea. and political life and openly express their position, some of them just turned up not at The Investigation Committee and the the right time and not at the right place. Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation are persecuting «the Kremlin’s prisoners» for fabricated charges in common criminal cases, as well as the application of so-called anti-extremist and anti-terrorist legislation, the purpose of which in this case 32 is to prosecute all dissenting persons. For of them are example, one can be sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment for stating publicly that Crimean Tatars Crimea is Ukraine. The allegations used by Russian and occupational investigative bodies -- the Investigative Committee and the Federal out of Security Service -- range from common 21 58 criminal ones to purely political such as convicting of making a public statement have already been sentenced about the occupation of Crimea by Russia. Usually, however, this means the use of in occupational Crimean so-called anti-extremist and anti-terrorist legislation by Russia. and / or Russian courts In fact, those people are hostages. And cases against them are used by Russia mainly for propaganda campaigns and discrediting 1.5 22.5 Ukraine. The presence of «the Kremlin’s prisoners,» years of deprivation of freedom as human rights activists call them, in places of deprivation of freedom in Russia and Crimea is characterized by gross violation of their rights. BEATINGS, CRUEL TREATMENT AND TORTURE OF «THE KREMLIN’S PRISONERS» Many of the detainees are subject to pressure, Since Russian or occupational authorities both physical and psychological, especially at are trying to conceal the victims of torture, it the early stages of the investigation, when the is rarely possible to document the relevant law enforcement tries to make them confess to traces on the body. But in the cases of Stanislav their guilt. Klikh, Renat Paralamov, Yevhen Panov and Oleksandr Kostenko, the defence has evidence At least 12 people, as they and their lawyers which indicate that those persons have been say, were subjected to cruel torture. tortured. The occupational authorities and the In most cases, the names of those who authorities of the Russian Federation refuse to committed beatings and torture remain investigate those tortures, practically admitting unknown. They also cannot be recognized their involvement in those violations. because security officials, as a rule, put on balaclavas for such a «delicate work». As often as not, methods of illegal physical influence include beatings, electric current, and strangulation. Among the psychological ones are threats to relatives, assurances that «Ukraine has rejected you», pressure and humiliation of dignity in various forms. VIOLATION OF THE RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL In all cases of «the Kremlin’s prisoners,» In general, the court and the prosecutor’s the right to a fair trial is violated one way or office act together as the prosecution. another. Such violations point out the illegal politically motivated persecution. There is by definition no independent justice in annexed Crimea due to the very terms of occupation. In its October 2017 resolution, the European Parliament listed Crimean «courts» also resort to retrospective 47 names, calling them «de application of the law -- they investigate and sentence in connection with events that had facto political prisoners.» taken place before Crimea was occupied. In spite of the prohibition to the occupant to Відверта фальсифікація матеріалів справи apply its own criminal law in occupied territories, Brutal falsification of case files -- even making up established in international humanitarian law, names of victims, straw witnesses unconvincing it is exactly what Russia resorts to in Crimea, witnesses to the search and unconvincing for example, by holding people criminally affiants, the evidence base manipulation and responsible for membership in organizations fake evidence planting, the unequal approach not prohibited in Ukraine. to assessing arguments of the defense and the prosecution…-- these are «normal methods» of Russian justice. LIMITED RIGHT TO PROTECTION AND PROSECUTION OF LAWYERS AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS In the cases of «the Kremlin’s prisoners» are the last bastion of protection for the there is a systematic practice of limiting the Kremlin’s prisoners; their role can hardly be right to protection as well as lawyers’ access to overestimated, and that is why some of them defendants. are being persecuted in connection with their In general, few independent lawyers activities. ILLEGAL RELOCATION FROM THE OCCUPIED TERRITORY OF CRIMEA TO THE TERRITORY OF THE OCCUPYING STATE This large-scale offense, which can be to the agreement between the Ukrainian and qualified as a war crime, has been lasting in Russian Human Rights Commissioners in early Crimea since the occupation. 2017, 16 convicted Ukrainian citizens were transferred from Crimea to the mainland to The process of relocating convicted Ukrainian serve the sentence for the first time in three citizens from Crimean places of deprivation of years of occupation. freedom to Russian ones is not voluntary but is violently carried out. After being convicted, Ukrainian prisoners are usually taken to Siberia or Trans-Ural. Some prisoners protest against such Despite the fact that the practice of the European relocation by causing injuries to themselves, Court of Human Rights prescribes detaining a but such forms of protest are ignored by Russia. convict as close as possible to his or her place of According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of residence, when it comes to political cases, the Ukraine, it is about several hundred people; Russian authorities do the exact opposite – they according to human rights defenders, this send prisoners thousands of miles away from figure amounts to several thousands. Owing their homes. 2 1 «The February 26 Case» «Ukrainian Activist» Ali Asanov Volodymyr Balukh Mustafa Dehermanjee 2 3 «The Crimean Case» «Spy Cases» Oleh Sentsov Valentyn Vyhivskyi Oleksandr Kolchenko Viktor Shur Oleksiy Chirnyi 1 9 «Chastisers» «Ukrainian Subversives» Serhiy Lytvinov Yevhen Panov Andriy Zakhtey Redwan Suleymanov Volodymyr Prysych 3 Dmytro Shtyblykov Oleksiy Bessarabov “Euromaidan Activists” Volodymyr Dudka Andriy Kolomiets Oleksiy Stohniy Oleksandr Kostenko Hlib Shabliy Mykola Shyptur 19 «The Hizb ut-Tahrir Case» Rustem Vaitov Enver Bekirov Emil Dzhemedenov Nuri (Yuriy) Primov Refat Alimov Zevri Abseitov Ruslan Zeytullaev Arsen Jepparov Ramsey Memetov Ferat Sayfullaev Teymur Abdullaev Rustem Abiltarov Muslim Aliyev Rustem Ismailov Enver Mamutov Vadym Siruk Uzeur Abdullaev Emir-Usain Kuku Aider Saledinov 2 3 Cases whose political