Written declaration No. 642 | Doc. 14423 | 12 October 2017
Situation of Ukrainian Political Prisoners in the Russian Federation and Crimea (Ukraine)
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.