Report: Indigenous people are pushed out the occupied Crimea

There is observed a tendency to squeeze the indigenous people − Crimean Tatars − from the peninsula after annexation.

It is stated in the report «Political Persecution in Russia. Six months of 2017».

«There is observed a precise tendency to push out indigenous people from the peninsula, first of all Crimean Tatars and Crimean Tatar activists, there are incompatible with ordinary life conditions for some part of the population that has retained Ukrainian citizenship and refused to accept Russian citizenship», the report says.

As to the report, «there is no full access for human rights defenders and media representatives (primarily Ukrainian ones)» on the occupied territory since annexation.

NGO «KrymSOS» recorded about 280 cases of gross violations of human rights, including 3 kidnappings, in 2016 on peninsula. There were launched 32 new criminal cases, conducted more than 177 detentions, organized more than 50 searches, and at least 7 persons were sent for compulsory psychiatric examination.

The report notes that at least 15 people were kidnapped or missing in total since 2014 in Crimea. They are mostly Crimean Tatars, as well as civil activists and journalists who openly express their disagreement with annexation.

According to human rights activists, the list of Ukrainian citizens illegally deprived of their liberty in Russia and the occupied Crimea was doubled in 2016. By the end of November, 2016, there were imprisoned 36 Ukrainian citizens on the territory of the Russian Federation (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine shows 31 people).

The report also says that the persecuted people often have no access to independent and high-quality legal assistance. Indictment information as the evidence is often based on the testimony of secret witnesses, and the investigation materials are recognized as the state secrets, and the lawyers are taken the travel restrictions.

There is numerous evidence of torture within the course of investigative actions.

A widespread violation by the Russian authorities in Crimea is the manifestation of discrimination on the basis of nationality and religion, as well as in connection with political convictions.

«The inhabitants of the peninsula are subjected to baseless detentions and arrests, the principle of presumption of innocence is non-existent in practice, Crimeans are massively prosecuted for falsified politically motivated cases, there is no possibility of independent and impartial judicial hearing, as well as a real competition of the process», the report says.