Written declaration No. 642 | Doc. 14423 | 12 October 2017

Situation of Ukrainian Political Prisoners in the Russian Federation and Crimea (Ukraine)

Signatories: Mr Volodymyr ARIEV, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Ms Boriana ÅBERG, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Mr Boryslav BEREZA, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Włodzimierz BERNACKI, Poland, EC ; Sir Jeffrey DONALDSON, United Kingdom, EC ; Lord Alexander DUNDEE, United Kingdom, EC ; Mr Mustafa DZHEMILIEV, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Baroness Margaret EATON, United Kingdom, EC ; Lady Diana ECCLES, United Kingdom, EC ; Mr Nigel EVANS, United Kingdom, EC ; Mr Axel FISCHER, Germany, EPP/CD ; Ms Iryna GERASHCHENKO, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Dame Cheryl GILLAN, United Kingdom, EC ; Ms Ingebjørg GODSKESEN, Norway, EC ; Ms Nino GOGUADZE, Georgia, EC ; Mr Vladyslav GOLUB, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Oleksii GONCHARENKO, Ukraine, EC ; Mr John HOWELL, United Kingdom, EC ; Ms Mariia IONOVA, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Giorgi KANDELAKI, Georgia, EPP/CD ; Mr Serhii KIRAL, Ukraine, EC ; Mr Serhiy LABAZIUK, Ukraine, SOC ; Mr Luís LEITE RAMOS, Portugal, EPP/CD ; Mr Oleh LIASHKO, Ukraine, NR ; Mr Georgii LOGVYNSKYI, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Jarosław OBREMSKI, Poland, EC ; Ms Gabriela PECKOVÁ, Czech Republic, EPP/CD ; Ms Irina PRUIDZE, Georgia, NR ; Mr Paul SCULLY, United Kingdom, EC ; Mr Serhii SOBOLIEV, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Ms Rita TAMAŠUNIENĖ, Lithuania, EC ; Mr Kostiantyn USOV, Ukraine, EC ; Mr Sergiy VLASENKO, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Viktor VOVK, Ukraine, EC ; Mr Emanuelis ZINGERIS, Lithuania, EPP/CD

This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.

Since the beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2014, followed by the illegal annexation of Crimea and military interference in Eastern Donbas, the numerous cases of human rights violations of Ukrainian nationals, including Crimean Tatars, have been reported by the UN, the Council of Europe and the OSCE. The Russian occupation authorities in Crimea use all methods in creating an atmosphere of fear in the peninsula.

Deputy Heads of Crimean Tatar Mejlis Ahtem Chiygoz and Ilmi Umerov, journalist Mykola Semena, farmer Volodymyr Balukh in Russia-occupied Crimea, Roman Sushchenko in Moscow, Stanislav Aseiev kept hostage by Russian proxies in Donetsk, and 19-year-old Pavlo Gryb, kidnapped in Belarus by the Russian security service for his pro-Ukrainian position are among dozens of Ukrainians considered guilty of committing no crime.

Taking into account the situation mentioned above, we call on the Committee of Ministers, Secretary General, Commissioner for Human Rights to prompt concrete actions with the view of protecting the rights and freedoms of these persons and ensuring their liberation. We also call on Council of Europe member States and the European Union to impose personal sanctions on Russian citizens alleged in the brutal violation of fundamental human rights.