07 March 2025

The Face of Resistance

Imagine: you are thrown behind bars simply for speaking a word, for telling the truth, for staying true to yourself. You are torn away from your family, deprived of freedom, tortured, and forced to confess to crimes you never committed. Yet, you do not surrender.

This is the reality of resistance in temporarily occupied Crimea for the 11th consecutive year—a struggle for identity, for the right to speak one’s native language, for the right to live on one’s own land.

One of the key priorities of the Mission is to shed light on the stories of those imprisoned by the occupiers. We will not allow them to be forgotten. We will not let the enemy erase their names.

Throughout 2024, as part of the 10 Years of Resistance initiative, we shared 48 stories of Crimean political prisoners. These are 48 families waiting for their loved ones. 48 examples that dismantle the myths—that Crimea surrendered without victims or bloodshed, that Crimeans did not resist, and that they voluntarily agreed to “join” Russia.

But there are far more stories to tell. As of now, 220 Ukrainian political prisoners remain behind bars in Russia and occupied Crimea, 133 of them are Crimean Tatars. These are not just numbers—they represent shattered lives, broken families, and children growing up without their parents. Their struggle continues, and our primary mission is to ensure the world knows each and every one of them.

That is why in 2025, we continue our work under the Face of Resistance project.

These are not just stories—they are people who have paid for their beliefs with their freedom but have not been broken. They are Crimeans who resist the occupation despite all odds. They are the voices of those whom the occupiers try to silence—and our primary mission is to make their names known to the world. To be their voice.