05 June 2024
MONTHLY UPDATE ABOUT THE SITUATION IN OCCUPIED CRIMEA FOR MAY 2024
Main news of the month
▶ On May 6, a unit of the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, using a Magura V5 maritime attack drone, destroyed Mongoose, a high-speed warship of the Russian invaders, in the area of Vuzka Bay in the west of occupied Crimea.
▶ Erol Valiiev, an assistant to Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev, was arrested on his way back to Ukraine by Moldovan special services at the request of Russia. Russia has falsely accused him of terrorism.
▶ On the night of May 15, the Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to hit a Russian military warehouse near the Belbek airfield near occupied Sevastopol. As a result of the strike, two Russian MiG-31 interceptors and one Su-27 completely burned down. Another MiG-29 was damaged. The fuel storage facility was also on fire.
▶ On May 17, in occupied Crimea, Russian security forces illegally broke into the house of the editor-in-chief of the Crimean Tatar newspaper QIRIM Bekir Mamutov, and an employee of the publication Seiran Ibrahimov. Currently, the editor-in-chief of QIRIM is illegally accused of “discrediting the Russian Armed Forces”. It is noteworthy that on the eve of the illegal searches, Bekir Mamutov gave an interview about peaceful demonstrations to honor the victims of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people in occupied Crimea.
▶ On the night of May 18, the Defense Forces of Ukraine managed to destroy an enemy vessel of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Project 266-M Kovrovets, in temporarily occupied Crimea.
▶ On May 18, Ukraine marked the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Crimean Tatar Genocide and the 80th anniversary of the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people, which was recognized as genocide in 2015 by Ukraine, in 2019 by Lithuania and Latvia, and in 2022 by Canada.
▶ Crimean Tatar activist Rustem Seitmemetov, who was illegally sentenced to 13 years in prison by the Russian occupiers on false charges in the “Crimean Muslim Case” because of his religious affiliation, underwent surgery after suffering a heart attack in Dymytrovhrad prison in the Ulianovsk region of the Russian Federation due to the unacceptable conditions of his detention.
▶ On the night of May 19, the Defense Forces of Ukraine hit a Russian Cyclone missile ship, the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea has lost its last surface cruise missile carrier.
▶ On the night of May 24-25, 8 years have passed since the abduction of Ervin Ibrahimov, member of the executive committee of the World Congress of Crimean Tatars and the Bakhchysarai regional Mejlis, by unknown persons in the uniform of the Russian occupation road patrol service. All these years, the activist’s location has been unknown.
▶ During a special operation on the night of May 30, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine hit two Russian KS-701 Tunets amphibious boats in occupied Crimea using Ukrainian Magura V5 strike marine drones.
Crimes committed by the Russian Federation in occupied Crimea
▶ As of May, the Russians have illegally imprisoned 218 Ukrainian citizens in occupied Crimea on ethnic, religious, and political grounds, including 133 Crimean Tatars.
▶ Rustem Sheikhaliiev, a civilian journalist, who was illegally sentenced by the Russian occupiers to 14 years in prison for revealing the repression of Muslims in Crimea under occupation, was illegally transferred by the Russians to Yeniseisk prison in the Krasnoyarsk region.
▶ Civilian journalist Osman Arifmemetov, who was illegally sentenced to 14 years in prison, was transferred by the occupiers to the Minusinsk prison in the Krasnoyarsk Territory of the Russian Federation, where the First Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Nariman Dzhelyal is currently being held. The occupiers illegally detained Arifmemetov in March 2019 for covering the “trials” of other political prisoners.
▶ In occupied Sevastopol, the Russian invaders sentenced a 51-year-old Ukrainian citizen to 2.5 years in prison for anti-Russian statements on social media.
▶ The occupation “court” extended the illegal house arrest of the former imam of the Lobanovo mosque, Remzi Kurtnezyrov, until August 4. In addition, the Russians will illegally place a Crimean Tatar in a hospital for psychiatric examination in mid-July.
▶ The Russians continue to illegally detain Crimean Tatar activists and journalists in occupied Crimea. For example, activist Enver Krosh, civilian journalist Vilen Temerianov, Rinat Aliiev, and Edem Bekirov will remain in Russian custody until August 29, 2024. Seitiaha Abbozov remains under house arrest. Memet Liumanov, Aziz Azizov, Rustem Osmanov, and Mustafa Abduru will remain in Russian detention until August 2 of this year.
▶ The Russian occupiers continue the practice of persecuting and putting pressure on Crimean Tatar human rights defenders who defend the rights of political prisoners illegally persecuted by the Russian occupation administration in Crimea. For example, Crimean Tatar lawyer Emil Kurbedinov was fined 30 thousand rubles for posting on social media about the illegal mobilization of students by the Russian occupiers in Crimea.
▶ The wife of Crimean Tatar activist and father of many children Eldar Yakubov, who was illegally sentenced to 11 years in prison, has received permission to have her first date with her husband in prison. The woman had been denied a meeting for over 8 months. Eldar Yakubov told his wife that he was suffering from headaches and noise in his head. Aishe Yakubova also noted that her husband had lost a lot of weight due to the harsh conditions of detention.
▶ In Simferopol, an occupation “court” illegally sentenced an activist of the Yellow Ribbon resistance movement Mykola Onuk to 5 years in prison for speaking out against the Russian occupation of Crimea. Contrary to the legislation, the verdict was announced without the participation of the audience.
▶ Political prisoner Server Zekiriaiev, illegally sentenced by Russia to 13 years in prison, was denied a transfer closer to home from a penal colony in the Tula region, where he was illegally transferred 1500 km from Crimea. In addition, the man is constantly placed in a punishment cell and his family is denied visits. The last time he saw his family was in September 2023. Earlier, Zekiriaiev reported torture in the Russian colony.
▶ The occupiers have decided to transfer Viktor Stashevskyi, a representative of the Jehovah’s Witness religious organization in Sevastopol, who was illegally sentenced to 6 years in prison on religious grounds, from a colony to a 3-year prison, where those convicted of particularly serious crimes, such as terrorism, hostage-taking, mass murder, etc. are held. In the colony, Stashevskyi is held in harsh conditions, he has been repeatedly imprisoned in a cell-type room. The “court” ruling on the transfer has not yet entered into force, and the political prisoner intends to appeal the illegal transfer.
▶ Russian border guards have indefinitely banned Yalta scientist Hurii Korniliev from entering Crimea. He has a 76-year-old mother who needs care on the occupied peninsula. Since 2014, Hurii Korniliev has lived with his mother in Crimea for all 10 years, and immediately after the occupation of the peninsula, he refused to receive a Russian passport in the letter. In April, the man traveled to Georgia for two weeks to resolve consular issues, and upon returning to Crimea, the Russians sent him to the so-called “filtration” where he was banned from entering his home in Crimea.
▶ Illegally sentenced to 19 years in prison, Crimean Arabic philologist Ismet Ibrahimov complains of stomach pains and the need for dental treatment. Ibrahimov informed his wife that due to the recalculation of the term of detention in the pre-trial detention center, he would spend most of his illegal imprisonment in a strict regime colony.
▶ A resident of Yalta was illegally and unreasonably found guilty of alleged espionage by the Russian occupiers. The occupation “court” declared him guilty and sentenced him to 16 years in a strict regime colony with a fine of 300 thousand rubles.
▶ Russian security forces sent illegally detained religious figures from occupied Dzhankoi Enver Khalillaiev, Arsen Kashka, and the imam of the mosque in the village of Lobanove Vakhid Mustafaiev for a forced judicial psychiatric examination in a Simferopol hospital. The lawyer called such actions of the occupiers “a way of putting pressure on those arrested in politically motivated criminal cases”.
▶ Yashar Muiedinov, an activist illegally sentenced to 13 years in prison by the occupiers, said that the staff of the jail in Dimitrovhrad, Ulianovsk region of the Russian Federation, used force and psychological pressure against him. Yashar Muiedinov added that the cell where he is being held is very damp. Because of this, his health deteriorated — his right arm began to hurt more.
▶ Crimean activist and citizen journalist Ruslan Suleimanov, who was unlawfully sentenced to 14 years in prison by a Russian court in the “Crimean Muslims case”, was registered in situational crime prevention list in the Verkhnouralsk prison in the Cheliabinsk region of the Russian Federation for allegedly “adhering to extremist ideology, a tendency to escape and attack”. In addition, he received two reprimands for sitting on the bed.
Using the territory of occupied Crimea as a military base and a springboard for attacks on Ukraine
▶ According to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in May 2024 the Russian occupiers launched at least 141 Shahed-131/136 UAVs, 4 cruise missiles, and 5 ballistic missiles from occupied Crimea and the Black Sea at the territory of Ukraine.
▶ The Russians conducted illegal military drills of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and Russian military units at least 14 times in April, endangering the residents of the occupied territory.
Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion and spread its aggression throughout Ukraine, occupied Crimea has been used by Russia as a military base to spread aggression in various forms. From the peninsula, the occupiers continue to attack the territory of Ukraine, including civilian infrastructure.
The resistance movement of Ukrainian citizens in occupied Crimea
▶ In May, Russia illegally prosecuted at least 22 residents of occupied Crimea for expressing solidarity with Ukraine. People are receiving administrative punishments in the form of illegal fines and arrests.
▶ A resident of occupied Crimea who published pro-Ukrainian posts on his social media was detained by Russian security forces. Even though the man does not speak Russian well, the occupiers also forced him to apologize on camera.
▶ In occupied Kerch, a man spoke out against the Russian aggression against Ukraine on social media, criticizing the Russian army and the Russian Federation. For this, he was detained by the occupiers, forced to apologize on camera, and sent the materials to the occupation “court”.
▶ A 64-year-old resident of the occupied village of Kirovske, Feodosiia region, published posts on social media supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the territorial integrity of Ukraine, and despising Russia’s occupation symbols. Russian security forces illegally detained the woman for 5 days and fined her 35 thousand rubles.
▶ In occupied Sevastopol, a 58-year-old resident shouted anti-Russian slogans and spoke out against the dictatorial regime in Russia. The occupation “court” accused the man of allegedly “justifying terrorism” and illegally sentenced him to 1 year and 6 months of imprisonment.
▶ A local flower seller in the occupied city of Sudak sold yellow and blue flowers and refused to display Russian symbols in her flower shop. Russian security forces are currently prosecuting the woman.
▶ A resident of occupied Simferopol posted the Ukrainian song “Chervona Kalyna” (“Red Viburnum”) on his social media. The Russian occupiers detained the man, forced him to apologize on camera, and sent the materials to the occupation “court”.
▶ A resident of Sevastopol filmed and posted on a social network the work of the Russian air defense on the night of May 17. The occupiers illegally detained the man and forced him to apologize on camera.
▶ A couple from occupied Yevpatoriia listened to Ukrainian songs and spoke out against Russian aggression against Ukraine in their home. Occupation forces broke into the private house and forcibly detained the man and woman, who face criminal accusations, and forced them to apologize on camera.
▶ An 18-year-old student from the Kurmanskyi district of occupied Crimea supported the Armed Forces of Ukraine and opposed the Russian occupation forces in social networks under a nickname. The occupiers illegally detained the boy, sent materials to the occupation “court” and forced him to apologize on camera.
▶ Activists of the Yellow Ribbon movement continue to protest, destroy occupation propaganda materials and distribute patriotic materials in the occupied cities of Crimea. Thus, patriotic posters and yellow ribbons have reappeared in Simferopol, Yalta, Alushta, Sevastopol, Yevpatoriia, Bakhchysarai and others. In addition, activists held an action “Burn the Georgian Ribbon of the Occupiers” to destroy the Georgian ribbons and other symbols of the occupiers. Despite the efforts of Russian propaganda and the “celebration of victory,” the activists managed to honor the memory of Ukrainians who gave their lives in the fight against Nazism in World War II. Yellow Ribbon activists also honored the victims of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people on the 80th commemoration of the deportation.
▶ Activists of the Crimean Combat Seagulls resistance movement continue to reveal the personal information of collaborators and Russian war criminals in occupied Crimea. The activists also commemorated the victims of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people.
▶ The Zla Mavka women’s resistance movement continues to distribute its diaries and spread a weekly newspaper that reveals the crimes of the occupiers. In addition, activists burned propaganda materials of the occupiers in occupied Simferopol. The activists also shared notes with quotes from Taras Shevchenko’s poems near the Yevpatoriia city cultural center.
The full-scale invasion was marked by a sharp increase in solidarity and resistance actions of the residents of occupied Crimea against the Russian occupiers. Residents of the occupied territories unite in resistance movements, such as the aforementioned Yellow Ribbon, Crimean Combat Seagulls, Zla Mavka, and ATESH, or act individually. To suppress the resistance movement of residents in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea after February 24, 2022, the occupiers actively began to prosecute and bring to administrative responsibility Ukrainian citizens under the article on the so-called “discrediting the Russian Armed Forces”.
We call on the international community not to ignore Russian crimes against Ukrainian citizens in occupied Crimea and to disseminate information about human rights violations during the occupation.