Governments of the European Union, Switzerland, Norway, Montenegro, Iceland, Albania, Liechtenstein, USA, Canada, Australia and Japan President and Government of Ukraine OPEN ADDRESS On July 5, 2018, in violation of fundamental human rights and international humanitarian law, a court of Crimean occupying authorities passed another sentence against Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Balukh. Judge of the “Rozdolnenskyi District Court” Tetyana...

Volodymyr Balukh, a political prisoner, has been already in custody for 1 year and 7 months in Crimea. Protesting, he has been on hunger strike for 108 days. During the Maidan protest in Kyiv he placed a flag of Ukraine at his house in the Crimean village. After occupation of the peninsula he did not remove the flag, for it the Russian authorities began to persecute him. Since April 2015, illegal searches began in his house, during that flags...

On June 21, 2018, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine included draft law “On Introducing Changes to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning Counteraction to Threats to the National Security in Information Sector” No. 6688 in the agenda. This draft law introduces a mechanism of temporary blocking of websites, obliges providers to install technical tools for access restriction and stipulates high sanctions, including criminal responsibility,...

On June 18, 2018 the “Supreme Court” of Crimea has extended the preventive punishment in the form of detention for another two months – until August 14 – for Vladimir Dudka and Aleksei Bessarabov, who are accused of preparing “sabotage” in the territory of Crimea. Crimean human rights group was informed regarding this by the relatives of Vladimir Dudka. The decision to extend the arrest was made by...

Such information is contained in the response to a request received by the defence of Balukh from the “Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Razdolnensky District.” Responding to a lawyer’s request, the police reported that “on August 11, after the incident with the convicted prisoner (Balukh V.G.) the head of the temporary detention facility, police captain Tkachenko V.A. was unable to...

At a meeting of the “Supreme Court” of Crimea on the “case of the Ukrainian saboteur” Yevgenii Panov on June 13, 2018, “judge” Andrei Paliy interrogated as a witness the mother of Panov Vera Kotelianets. She told the “court” that her son Yevgenii Panov does not hate Russia’s citizens. At the last meeting, despite the objections of the defence, “confessions” were read out, which...

The Ukrainian activist Vladimir Balukh, who is kept in Simferopol jail by the occupation authorities of Crimea, has lost 30 kg of weight since the start of the hunger strike (March 19, 2018). This was reported by the lawyer Olga Dinze on June 6, 2018 at a press conference in central administrative board, organized by the Crimean human rights group. “Balukh went on a hunger strike at the end of March 2018. At present, he has been starving...

The young man received a suspended sentence for an illustration and an inscription in the social network, which, in the opinion of the “prosecutor’s office”, incited hatred for “law enforcement officers.” On May 31, a message appeared on the website of the “Prosecutor’s Office of Sevastopol” about the criminal case against a resident of the city, who was accused of inciting hatred and...

  To international organizations and the governments of Ukraine, EU member states, Switzerland, Norway, USA, Canada, Australia and Japan   OPEN ADDRESS   On May 21, 2018, two Crimean Tatar activists, Edem Smailov and Server Mustafayev, were detained after the searches in their houses in Russia-occupied Crimea. On May 22, the Kyiv District Court of Simferopol controlled by the Russian Federation arrested the detainees for 20 days...

On May 24, 2018, the “Supreme Court” of Crimea held a regular court hearing regarding the case of Ukrainian citizen Yevgenii Panov on preparation for sabotage on the peninsula. “Judge” Andrei Palii interrogated two witnesses of the prosecution. Deputy Director of the petroleum base, Sergei Titov, said that if a diversionary act had been committed, the potential damage could be up to 5 billion rubles. Igor Danshin, an...

Tatyana Moskalkova, the Russian Human Rights Commissioner, visited the Ukrainian activist Vladimir Balukh at the Simferopol pre-trial establishment (SIZO) on May 18, 2018. The ombudsman asked the Ukrainian about the state of his health, whether Vladimir has any complaints. According to the information of the Crimean Human Rights Group, after her visit to the ward of Vladimir Balukh, a curtain was placed, which separates the toilet from the rest...

Notifications regarding the ban were received at the email of the Crimean Human Rights Group (CHRG). Roskomnadzor’s letters state that if publications are not removed from the site, access to the CHRG website will be restricted in the territory of the Russian Federation. The articles forbidden by Russian censors contain information about the unlawful summoning of Crimean citizens to the Russian army, which is a violation of international...