Cases of “terrorism,” “treason,” “participation in Ukrainian battalions,” “discrediting the Russian army,” and “extremism”: how Russia is launching persecution and repression in occupied Crimea
Journalist Oleksandra Yefymenko shared the information on Hromadske Radio.
She specifically pointed out that there has been a rising number of cases involving women on the occupied peninsula, with two known cases currently being prosecuted for “treason.”
The journalist reported that these cases involve Oksana Senedzhuk, a philologist from Sevastopol, and Lyudmyla Kolesnikova, a lawyer from Yalta. Kolesnikova’s court hearings are scheduled to start on January 21.
According to Oleksandra Yefymenko, Lyudmyla had worked as an investigator for the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Crimea since 2011. Following the peninsula’s occupation, she remained with the same structure, now under the control of the occupying forces. She held the position of investigator until 2018, after which she worked as an inquiry officer for her final year in the role. She resigned in 2019.
“Lyudmyla traveled to Crimea in May 2024 to say goodbye to her severely ill mother and to bury her. After the burial, FSB officers searched her apartment, detained her, and charged her with ‘using foul language in public,’ which they claimed to have overheard. As a result, they initiated an administrative case against her for ‘petty hooliganism,’” Yefymenko explained.
Such fabricated “cases” are initiated to detain individuals, gain access to their apartments, and conduct searches. After these staged charges and detentions, Lyudmyla was released under a verbal obligation to remain at home under house arrest.
In July 2024, Lyudmyla disappeared and lost contact with her sister, Yana.
[…]
Currently, almost all independent lawyers on the peninsula are facing fabricated administrative charges, most often related to social media posts. Fortunately, none of them have been charged with criminal cases. Some independent lawyers have had their status revoked, meaning they can now only work as legal advisors.
Losing attorney status is a critical blow to their careers, as it prevents them from defending individuals in criminal cases and limits their work to administrative matters or legal consultations, the journalist explains.
- Russian forces have escalated the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war, with at least 147 deaths reported. Ukrainian authorities are investigating a rising number of such cases.
Ukraine: Repression in occupied Crimea: women, lawyers, artists targeted by Russian authorities