On June 9, judicial hearings against the citizens of Ukraine were held in Crimea – Activists

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Kyiv, July 10, 2015. The Center for Civil Liberties reported about ninth court session against citizens of Ukraine held during June 2015 in Crimea, which included one sentence and three penalties imposed, ten detentions, seven interrogations and at least three warnings. “In addition, six criminal proceedings, one seizure of premises and abundant evidence of denunciations against citizens of Ukraine have been recorded,” said Maria Lysenko, Euromaidan SOS volunteer and Project Coordinator of the Center for Civil Liberties, during a press briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center.

In Crimea, the persecution of Ukrainians citizens and the prohibition of any pro-Ukrainian activities become progressively more frequent. Among persons persecuted for political reasons is Euromaidan activist Stanislav Krasnov, a resident of Crimea. He said the facts of the persecution appeared long before the annexation of Crimea. “At the end of 2013, my parents were attacked by the SBU of Crimea for the first time. My apartment was repeatedly searched in order to find evidence of radical activities,” said Stanislav Krasnov during a press briefing. Currently, according to the legislation of the Russian Federation Stanislav Krasnov is accused of violating Article 282, promoting hatred and debasing human dignity.

However, the facts of the violations of the rights of Ukrainian citizens are being concealed. Now, it is almost impossible to demonstrate to the world the mistreatment of Ukrainians. “Ukrainian laws specifically prescribes that foreigners have the right to enter the occupied territories, 1) if they have relatives or dead relatives in Crimea, or 2) if they have real estate there. Typically, foreign experts have neither of the two,” said Roman Martynovsky, expert at the Regional Center for Human Rights. Currently, there is only one option, which allows you to get to Crimea: the desire to protect the national interests and unity of the state. Such a permit is issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. “However, knowing the facts of the persecution and pressure for any pro-Ukrainian activities, as an expert, I consider this approach dangerous for foreigners,” said Roman Martynovsky.

During the press briefing, the experts also pointed out some rules for citizens of Ukraine who are going to visit Crimea this summer as tourists. “First of all, I would advise before your trip to monitor all your activities on social networks and phone messages. This may become the cause of your sudden arrest by the FSB,” emphasized Maria Lysenko, the Project Coordinator of the Center for Civil Liberties.