Human rights: declaration vs. realities of Crimea 

Every year on December 10, the world celebrates Human Rights Day. On this day in 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which became the first international document containing a broad list of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. The Declaration was prompted by the tragic events leading up to and during World War II, when “disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind”.  

Despite the fact that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is of a recommendatory nature, virtually all of the rights and freedoms proclaimed in it were later reflected in international human rights treaties binding on member states. Such documents were the universally adopted International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as the regionally adopted European Convention on Human Rights. The russian federation was a party to the European Convention on Human Rights until 2022. 

Over the 11 years of occupation of Crimea, violations of fundamental human rights have become systemic. In the CrimeaSOS article, we shall provide examples of violations of key articles of the Declaration: 

Article 2   

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty. 

In its decision in the case of Ukraine v. Russia, the European Court of Human Rights noted that Crimean Tatars had become a “particular target” of acts of intimidation, pressure, physical attacks, warnings, searches, detentions, and punishments. “Crimean Tatars under occupation are the most discriminated ethnic group in Crimea, persecuted for their national and religious identity”,— Former Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzheppar previously stated.     

Article 3   

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. 

“Are you TOO WEAK to do it?” – the call for protest made by Reshat Ametov, the first known victim of russian aggression. On March 3, 2014, he went to a solo protest against the russian occupation and was abducted by members of the “Crimean Self-Defence” Forces. A few days later, Reshat Ametov was found dead with signs of numerous tortures.  

Reshat was an activist who peacefully resisted the russian occupation. His action was a symbolic fight for the right to vote: “I have the right!”. According to his brother Refat Ametov, this was the reason for his murder. 

At least 104 people have been victims of enforced disappearances, the fate of 21 of them is still unknown. In particular, in May 2016, Ervin Ibrahimov, a member of the executive committee of the World Congress of Crimean Tatars, was abducted. Nothing is known about his whereabouts yet. There is a publicly available video showing representatives of the occupation transport police forcibly pushing him into a minibus.  

At least 218 Crimean political prisoners are held in penitentiary institutions on the occupied peninsula and in russia.  

Two political prisoners – Kostiantyn Shyrinh and Dzhemil Hafarov – died in russian penitentiaries due to a systematic lack of medical care.  

“Every morning until noon, the left side of my chest hurts and I neither paramedic nor a doctor come when I call for them. Doctors don’t come to do check-ups; and in order to get an appointment with them, one writes a statement and they call for him/her within three days. During the appointment itself – they measure blood pressure and that’s it. My legs and joints hurt a lot due to the effects of kidney disease – gout. Cramps from knee to foot due to kidneys happen every day. Pressure is very difficult to measure”, – Dzemil Hafarov wrote in a letter to his wife. 

Article 5   

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 

“They suffocated me with plastic bags. They suffocated me four times. I’ve seen this in movies many times and didn’t understand how people could break. But it was indeed scary”, – former political prisoner Oleh Sentsov said.  

russian security forces massively use beatings, strangulation, electric shocks, mock executions, and other forms of physical force to obtain confessions or testimonies.  

Crimean prisoners are held in overcrowded cells, in unsanitary conditions, with poor nutrition, systematic lack of medical care, and suffer from other manifestations of cruel and inhumane treatment.  

More than 40 Crimean political prisoners are in need of urgent medical care.   

Article 6   

Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.  

As of April 2024, at least 86 people were being held in Simferopol pre-trial detention centre-2 without any charges, access to a lawyer, or other means of protecting their rights.  

Article 9   

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile. 

russian security forces detain residents of Crimea for acts that do not constitute administrative or criminal violations under Ukrainian law.  

After the full-scale invasion began, the number of people held in Crimean detention centres for many months without any charges numbered in the dozens. 

Volunteer Iryna Horobtsova spent almost two years in pre-trial detention before being accused of espionage. The woman was detained by the russian military on May 13, 2022, during the occupation of Kherson. Her case demonstrates patterns of enforced disappearances in more than 80 other cases: she was abducted by russian occupiers, her family was not informed of her situation for a long time, and no charges were brought. 

Article 10   

Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him. 

Illegally established courts convict Crimean residents of criminal offenses under russian criminal law.  

Occupation courts demonstrate dependence on the prosecution, restrict public access under the pretext of the COVID-19 pandemic or terrorist threat, and deny defence motions more often than the motions of the prosecution.   

The accusation is often based on the testimony of biased secret witnesses, falsified evidence, or confessions made under torture. 

The trials over Nariman Dzhelial, Asan and Aziz Akhtemov, Iryna Danylovych, Oleksii Kyseliov, and Oleksii Ladin demonstrate the failure to meet fair trial standards. 

Article 11   

1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Occupation courts sentenced Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Akhtem Chyihoz and seven other Crimean Tatars for events during a pro-Ukrainian protest in Simferopol on February 26, 2014, retroactively applying the russian criminal code.

The occupation court sentenced Oleksandr Kostenko and Andrii Kolomiiets for acts they allegedly committed in Kyiv during the Revolution of Dignity in February 2014, retroactively applying the russian criminal code.  

Applying the russian criminal code, occupation courts convict residents of Crimea for acts that are not criminal offenses under the Ukrainian legislation.   

Article 12  

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.  

The residents of Crimea did not have enough time and opportunities to renounce their forcibly imposed russian citizenship. After all, the occupation authorities of Crimea declared all residents of the peninsula citizens of the russian federation from the day of the occupation of the peninsula, with the exception of persons who declared their intention to retain their existing citizenship within one month. In addition to the short deadlines, there were limited opportunities to submit such applications. 

About 12,500 Crimean prisoners were transferred to penitentiary institutions in russia, making it difficult for them to maintain family ties.  

Activist Riza Izetov was transferred to the Yakutsk penal colony, located over 9,000 km from Crimea, to serve his illegal sentence.  

The occupation authorities in Crimea systematically conduct searches in the homes of Crimean Tatars under the cover of fighting terrorism. Thus, on March 27, 2019 alone, the occupation authorities searched 25 homes of Crimean Tatars in various regions of Crimea. As a result, at least 20 people were detained, mostly activists of the “Crimean Solidarity” civic movement. The searches were accompanied by violations: russian security forces planted prohibited materials and did not allow lawyers to see the detainees. There have been at least 464 arbitrary searches during the years of the occupation of Crimea, 329 of which took place in the homes of Crimean Tatars. 

Article 13   

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

“I didn’t want to take a russian passport because I couldn’t accept that a country in the 21st century in Europe could invade the territory of another country and change its borders. And I don’t want putin to refer to the protection of russian speakers in his policies. Therefore, I decided not to be involved in putin’s crime and not to take russian citizenship”, – Hurii said in an interview with “Crimea.Realities”. russian border guards indefinitely banned entry into Crimea to Hurii Korniliev, a scientist from Yalta who refused to accept russian citizenship despite the fact that his 76-year-old mother lived in Crimea and needed care. 

Occupation courts have ruled to deport at least 864 people (mostly Ukrainian citizens) whom russia considers foreigners in Crimea.  

About 100,000 Ukrainian citizens left Crimea after the start of the russian occupation.  

Crimean Tatar leaders Mustafa Dzhemiliev and Refat Chubarov, journalists Taras Ibrahimov, Olena Savchuk, Alina Smutko, and Anastasiia Rinhis are among those banned from entering Crimea by the occupation authorities.

Article 17   

1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

In most of Crimea, residents do not have the right to own land unless they have russian citizenship.   

At least 5,516 real estate properties were expropriated in Crimea. 

The occupation authorities distributed over 2,500 land plots in Crimea among military personnel who participated in the aggressive war against Ukraine. 

Article 18   

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. 

During the years of russian occupation, the number of religious organizations in Crimea has halved – from 2,083 to 907.  

Over the past 3 years, russian security forces have conducted about 75 searches in premises of Jehovah’s Witnesses. About 30 Jehovah’s Witnesses were prosecuted, 11 of whom were sentenced to prison terms of up to 6.5 years.  

At least 17 churches of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine have been seized or closed by the occupying authorities. In particular, in 2023, the Cathedral of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princes Volodymyr and Olha in Simferopol was captured – the main temple of the Crimean Eparchy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. And in the summer of 2024, the occupation authorities dismantled the Holy Cross Exaltation Church of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Yevpatoria. Metropolitan Clement called such actions by russia “a demonstrative destruction of a cult religious building of Ukrainians in Crimea”. 

The situation with Muslim communities also remains difficult. In the fall of 2024, the occupation court ruled to liquidate the independent Muslim community “Alushta”. Several heads and members of Muslim communities and imams were sentenced to prison terms of up to 19 years.   

Article 19   

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. 

In the fall of 2024, an occupation court sentenced Crimean Denys Yezhov to a year in prison for shouting “Glory to Ukraine, everything will be Ukraine“.   

At least 1,093 cases under the article on discrediting the russian army have been filed in “courts” in Crimea.

During the first year of the occupation of Crimea, the number of media outlets decreased by more than 10 times – from 3,000 to 232.  

During 2024, the editorial office of the Crimean Tatar newspaper “Qırım” was fined a total of RUB 790 thousand.  

At least 21 journalists in Crimea have been subject to criminal prosecution, 17 of whom are still in prison.    

Article 20   

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Public gatherings are permitted only with prior approval from the occupation authorities.  

Over the past 3 years, there have been at least 10 waves of mass detentions of Crimean Tatars who gathered in support of their repressed compatriots. Occupation courts sentenced most of those detained to administrative fines or administrative arrest.  

The occupation authorities periodically send Crimean Tatar activists warnings about the inadmissibility of participating in unauthorized gatherings before the memorable dates, in particular the anniversary of the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people.   

Article 21   

1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
2. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Citizens living in the occupied Crimea were unable to participate in the presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine in 2014 and 2019.  

Article 23   

1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests. 

In 2024, the occupation authorities banned persons who do not have russian citizenship from working in 35 areas, including crop production, livestock breeding, wholesale and retail trade.  

Article 25   

1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Residents of Crimea are not entitled to health insurance and have limited access to social insurance unless they have acquired russian citizenship.  In addition, residents of the peninsula do not have the right to rent residential premises under a social rental agreement if they do not have russian citizenship.   

Article 26   

1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

The occupation administration eradicated the Ukrainian language from the educational sphere. In particular, the percentage of schoolchildren in Crimea who study in Ukrainian has decreased from 7.2% to 0.2% during the years of occupation. 

The educational program in Crimean schools has become a tool of militarization: it justifies full-scale war, instils the cult of violence and the ideology of the “russian world”, purposefully preparing schoolchildren for future participation in military operations.   

Article 27   

1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

The occupation administration repeatedly banned Crimean Tatars from holding public events to celebrate memorable dates or religious holidays.  

As a result of interrogations and searches, activists of the Ukrainian Cultural Centre were forced to leave Crimea. 

The occupation authorities are carrying out restoration of the Khan’s Palace in Bakhchysarai, which has led to noticeable destruction of the monument and distortion of its authentic appearance.  

Article 28  

Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized. 

The veto power of the permanent members of the UN Security Council and the unwillingness of the international community to take decisive action to restore international peace and security, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms indicate that the current international order is unable to ensure the rights and freedoms of the residents of Crimea and other temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.  

Article 29   

1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

The ECHR noted that the persecution in Crimea was directed against Ukrainian activists, journalists and Crimean Tatars with the aim of punishing and silencing any political opposition. 

“Massive and systemic human rights violations in the occupied Crimea have been recognized by international judicial bodies – the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights, which issued decisions on the merits this year. In particular, in June 2024, the ECHR announced its decision in the interstate case “Ukraine v. Russia (re Crimea)”. The representative of Ukraine called this decision “victorious”, as the ECHR recognized that russia had violated the rights and freedoms listed in 14 articles of the European Convention on Human Rights and the protocols thereto. This confirmed the claim that there is almost no category of human rights that russia has not yet violated in Crimea. Now Ukraine and the international community face another challenge, which is the need to develop an effective mechanism to force the russian federation to comply with the decisions of international judicial institutions”, – CrimeaSOS analyst Yevhenii Yaroshenko noted. 

Since 2014, russia has systematically violated the fundamental rights of the residents of Crimea, ignoring international law and basic human rights principles. This includes discrimination based on ethnicity, political affiliation, and religion, as well as persecution of Ukrainians based on national identity and faith. Human rights violations have become widespread, including the mistreatment of political prisoners.  Such actions are accompanied by the deprivation of Crimean residents of basic rights: restrictions on access to education in their native language, work, social protection, medical services, as well as freedom of expression. These violations embody the reality of the “russian world” — a policy that destroys the freedom and dignity of Ukrainian citizens in the occupied territory.  

In view of this, it is critically important to draw the attention of the international community to these crimes, demanding an end to human rights violations, increased sanctions pressure, and the restoration of law and order based on Ukrainian legislation in Crimea. The protection of human rights in Crimea is a test of the modern world’s ability to uphold the principles of freedom and justice.