Within the last year the persecution of the women in Crimea has intensified – Olha SKRYPNYK, the Head of the Crimean Human Rights Group, claims at the event “Civil society in russian captivity” on 6 May.
At her speech Olha SKRYPNYK urges that the women are yet another category of the residents of the country being persecuted by russia on the occupied territories, in particular, in the occupied Crimea. Among them there are the journalists, the activists, and the participants of the protestations against the russian occupation.
The FSB has been fabricating the criminal cases against them, applying violence and the psychological pressure, depriving them of the medical aid they need. Yet another method of pressure on the woman is threats to abduct their children and to place them into the orphanages in russia.
Olha SKRYPNYK reminds that one of the first notorious cases against the Ukrainian women in Crimea is the case of Halyna DOVHOPOLA, the 69-year old Ukrainian activist, the resident of Sevastopol.
Olha SKRYPNYK informs that today Iryna DANYLOVYCH, the civil journalist, the nurse, turns 45 years.
Olha SKRYPNYK reiterates that within the last year the persecution of the women in Crimea has intensified. In Sevastopol solely 3 women were apprehended last autumn. All they were active participants of the protestations against occupation in 2014 and supported Ukraine.
Oksana SENEDZHUK, 58, the Ukrainian activist, the philologist, the resident of Sevastopol, the participant of the events against Crimea occupation in 2014. Together with Oksana another activist, a 35-year old resident of Sevastopol was apprehended. In March 2025 she was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment in the colony of the general regime. She was active at protesting against Crimea occupation in 2014.
“After the full scale invasion the women abducted from the Kherson and the Zaporizhzhya regions are detained in Crimea. The Crimean model of the persecution of the activists is widely applicable on the territories occupied after 2022. For instance, Iryna HOROBTSOVA, a testing specialist of the IT-companies and the civil activist, who while russian occupation of Kherson helped the local hospital, provided the humanitarian aid. In May 2022 she was abducted and transported to Simferopol. In August 2024 she was sentenced to 10 years and 6 months of imprisonment in the colony of the general regime under the charge of “espionage” (Article 276 of the Criminal Code of the RF)”, – Olha SKRYPNYK says.
The Head of the Crimean Human Rights Group maintains that before the full scale invasion the Crimean lists of the political prisoners had contained from 3 to 5 women. To date the Crimean Human Rights Group has recorded at least 20 civilians, captive women, from Crimea, the Kherson and the Zaporizhzhya regions, detained on the territory of Crimea and the RF under political reasons.
“Any and all negotiations with russia shall demand from russia to provide the comprehensive information on all civilians detained and demand to free them, including women, letting them leave the occupied territories or russia with no hindrance whatsoever. We urge the OSCE and the participating states to address this issue to maximum possible extent. The women in russian captivity as thousands other Ukrainian civilians being controlled by russia remain almost invisible at the international level. We encourage to join the initiatives of the civil mentoring, the active participation at verification of the civilians in custody and the negotiations to free the civilians and to return them back to Ukraine”, – Olha SKRYPNYK maintains.
