09 July 2024
WEEKLY UPDATE ON THE SITUATION IN OCCUPIED CRIMEA ON JULY 9, 2024
Main news of the week:
▶ On the evening of July 1, the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to hit an ammunition depot near Cape Fiolent in occupied Crimea. As a result, a depot of the Shahed-136 UAV was damaged. The estimated number of destroyed drones used by the occupiers to attack civilian targets and infrastructure in Ukraine is 90.
▶ The occupation “court” refused to release Crimean Muslim Amet Suleimanov from Bakhchysarai, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison. The sentence was upheld even though Amet suffers from two illnesses that are included in the list of those incompatible with the conditions of imprisonment. The occupiers illegally accused Suleimanov in the so-called “Crimean Muslims” case, which is politically and religiously motivated. The verdict was upheld, even though Amet has two diseases included in the list of those incompatible with the conditions of imprisonment. Suleimanov has osteoarthritis, and hypertensive retinopathy, and urgently needs a heart valve replacement.
Crimes committed by the Russian Federation in occupied Crimea
▶ As of May 2024, Russia has illegally imprisoned 217 people in occupied Crimea on ethnic, religious, and political grounds, including 133 Crimean Tatars.
▶ The aggressor state continues to use Russian legislation as an instrument of pressure on the Crimean population, and the law enforcement and judicial system as an instrument of enforcement.
▶ The occupation “court” sentenced in absentia a resident of the peninsula who left Crimea and joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine in February 2022 under the article on “high treason”. He was put on the international wanted list and sentenced to 16 years in prison, to be served in a strict regime penal colony.
▶ The Russian army has intensified its tactics of hiding its groups behind civilians in Crimea. Due to the effective actions of the Defense Forces of Ukraine in Crimea, the enemy is committing cynical crimes – the deployment of military facilities near civilian areas to deter Ukrainian strikes. The aggressor country systematically violates the rules of international humanitarian law, according to which military commanders must avoid placing military objectives in or near densely populated areas.
▶ The occupiers transport stolen Ukrainian wheat from Sevastopol to sell it in Venezuela. In April, the Russian Northern Merchant Navy ship Enisey arrived in occupied Sevastopol from Arkhangelsk. Within a week, the occupiers loaded the ship with 27 thousand tons of wheat taken from Melitopol. The wheat was then transferred from the Enisey to a steamer near the Kavkaz Port. From there, the ship sailed across the Bosphorus to its destination, Port Venezuela.
Resistance movement of Ukrainian citizens in occupied Crimea
▶ A retiree from Alushta was asked at the checkout how he would like to pay, and he replied: “Cash. We live in Ukraine, not in Russia.” (he said in Ukrainian) In response to the shopkeeper’s indignation and the phrase “We live in Russia,” the pensioner said: “You have betrayed your principles, and we will wait.” The man was detained for 15 days.
▶ A resident of Sevastopol wrote comments on one of the telegram channels from his account, calling for violent actions against the occupiers. The 30-year-old man was illegally sentenced to 1.5 years in prison with the deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to the administration of sites and channels on the Internet.
▶ A resident of the village of Soniachna Dolyna expressed on her social media waiting for the liberation of Crimea, supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and wishing for Ukraine’s victory. The occupiers drew up an administrative “protocol” to allegedly “discredit the Russian Armed Forces” and sent the materials to the “court”.
▶ A resident of the Saky district spoke negatively about the Russian army and said he wanted to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The occupiers illegally detained the man and forced him to apologize. An administrative report was drawn up against him and an illegal fine of 50 thousand rubles was imposed on him.
▶ As part of the flash mob, “This is Ukraine,” activists of the Yellow Ribbon movement raised the Ukrainian flag on the Canakai Qır Cliffs in Simferopol, also known as the Petrivski Cliffs.
De-occupation of Crimea is the only way to prevent the persecution and subjugation of Ukrainian citizens and Crimean Tatars in Crimea. We call upon 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.