January 12 – Ukrainian Political Prisoner’s Day
On Ukrainian Political Prisoner’s Day, which is celebrated annually on January 12, we honor those who lost their freedom for their belief in ideals and struggle for independence. It is a day dedicated to courage, a day when we remember those who did not betray their values.
As of January 2024, the occupiers have illegally imprisoned 204 people, including 123 Crimean Tatars. Of the total number, 33 are arrested (including 22 Crimean Tatars), 150 are imprisoned (including 100 Crimean Tatars), and 21 are without status.
Among them is the First Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Nariman Dzhelial, who was illegally transferred to distant siberia, 5,000 kilometers from his native Crimea, but was not broken even by this. Among them is Iryna Danilovych, a journalist who was illegally imprisoned for her pro-Ukrainian views, and whose health has suffered greatly due to the inhumane conditions in which she is being held by the Russians. This is Bohdan Ziza, who poured yellow and blue paint on the door of the occupation administration, thus expressing his protest and pro-Ukrainian views. These are Seyran Saliyev, Leniye Umerova, Halyna Dovhopola, Vladyslav Yesypenko, Amet Suleymanov, the Akhtemov brothers, Server Mustafayev and Oleksandr Tarapon, and others.
Russians came to our lands, talking about “total support among the population,” but the truth is that most people were intimidated, and those who could not be intimidated were illegally imprisoned by the occupiers.
Ukraine has won its independence, but it was only the beginning. There is still a lot of work to be done, and the fate of political prisoners remains a hot topic. Today, we are actively communicating this topic at the international level and doing our best to change the situation.
Today, let each of us remember those who are unjustly and illegally imprisoned for their beliefs and do everything we can to support them and speed up the time when every Ukrainian political prisoner will be free.