The occupation authorities have made the restrictions on freedom of peaceful assemblies on the territory of the Crimean peninsula far severer, applying unlawfully the repressive Russian laws for this purpose.
The Crimean Human Rights Group has analysed the decisions of the Crimean ‘courts’ for April 2014 – September 2018.
For this period, 353 persons were held administratively liable, and 12 persons were indicted on criminal charges including:
- 8 sentences on the ‘February 26th Case’: 1 sentence – 8 years in the maximum security penal colony for Mr.Akhtem Chiygoz who was released after the sentence due to the political negotiations, and 7 suspended prison sentences;
- 4 sentences on the ‘May 3rd Case’: 3 suspended prison sentences and a sentence of RUR40,000 penalty.
Crimean ‘judges’ took 367 decisions on imposing administrative sanctions, including 334 rulings on penalties for the total amount of RUR3,942,500.
Administrative arrests (minimum 22 such rulings are recorded) and community services (11 rulings) were also applied to the peaceful assembly participants.
The Crimean Human Rights Group records on a regular basis not only victims of the Russian authorities’ actions in Crimea but also those who disrespect human rights and persecute unlawfully the Crimeans. Among these breakers are also ‘judges’ who have passed the highest number of decisions on criminal and administrative cases against the activists for peaceful action participation:
‘Supreme Court of Crimea’
28 decisions – Ms Yekaterina Timoshenko (a Ukrainian national)
33 decisions – Mr Vladimir Agin (a Russian national)
‘Judges’ of regional courts
22 rulings – Ms Irina Shevcheko (a Ukrainian national)
21 rulings – Mr Sergey Proskurnia (a Ukrainian national)
16 rulings – Mr German Atamaniuk (a Ukrainian national)
He has also passed a decision on the highest penalty – RUR150,000.
The highest number of sentences on administrative arrests
4 sentences, 5 days each, – Ms Irina Kalitina (a Ukrainian national, ‘Kievsky district court’)
‘Record-holding’ ‘judges’ on criminal case sentences
5 sentences on the ‘February 26th Case’ – Mr Sergey Demenok (a Ukrainian national, ‘Tsentralny district court’, Simferopol City)
3 sentences – Mrs Larisa Likhacheva (a Ukrainian national, ‘Armiansk Town Council’)
‘Record-holding’ ‘judges’ on maximum year’s sentences
Mr Viktor Zin’kov (a Ukrainian national, ‘Supreme Court of Crimea’) – 8 years in custody for Mr Akhtem Chiygoz within the ‘February 26th Case).
Persecuting the people for participation in the peaceful assemblies, the Russian authorities disrespect Articles 10 and 11 of the European Human Rights Convention, guaranteeing the freedom of expression and peaceful assemblies.
