16 December 2024

Occupiers Illegally Have Fined Editor of Crimean Tatar Newspaper Qırım for the Third Time 

For the third time this year, the editor of the independent Crimean Tatar newspaper Qırım, Bekir Mamutov, has been unlawfully prosecuted by the occupation authorities. This time, the so-called “Railway District Court” of Simferopol found him guilty of allegedly “abusing the freedom of information” and imposed a fine of 4,000 rubles. The “verdict” was issued by a so-called “judge” who, in May of this year, was sentenced by a Ukrainian court to 13 years in prison for treason.

The pretext for this unlawful administrative prosecution was the publication of a biography of a Soviet human rights activist, which mentioned her work with Voice of America and Radio Liberty. Both of these organizations have been designated as “foreign agents” by Russian authorities.

The case was heard in a closed session, with access to the “courtroom” restricted under the pretext of “enhanced security measures,” which the occupation administration justified as a response to an alleged threat of terrorist attacks.

This is already the third case against Mamutov this year. He has previously faced persecution from the occupation administration as part of a broader strategy to pressure independent media and journalists in temporarily occupied Crimea. Such actions aim to force journalists into self-censorship and restrict the Crimean Tatar community’s access to independent information.

Russia systematically persecutes independent media, violating the right to freedom of speech in the occupied territory of Ukraine. We call on the international community to increase pressure on the aggressor state to put an end to the repression of Ukrainian citizens in occupied Crimea.

Криму.