Detention of Lutfiye Zudiyeva, a Crimean Tatar Human Rights Defender and Journalist Statement of Human Rights Organizations

On February 22, 2024, in the morning, the Russian Extremism Countering Center for (hereinafter – ECC (TsPE in Russian)) operatives searched the house of Lutfiye Zudiyeva, a journalist and human rights defender. A video surveillance recorder, all phones, flash drives and a laptop were seized from her and her husband. The search was carried out in absence of the defence lawyers: Emil Kurbedinov and Edem Semedliayev. They arrived at the place of search, but they were not allowed to enter the house of Mrs. Zudiyeva. In addition, while detaining Mrs.Zudiyeva, the CPE male operatives, being aware that she was a religious Muslim, were touching her, that offended Lutfiye and her husband.

After the search, the Russian operatives detained the human rights defender and transported her to the ECC in the city of Simferopol, where reports were drawn up on her for committing administrative offenses as established by Article 13.15-2 and 2.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (abuse of freedom of mass information). The grounds were that in her post on Facebook about the illegal persecution of alleged Hizb ut-Tahrir members she had not mentioned that this organization was recognized a terrorist organization in the Russian Federation, and that referring to the Free Europe/Radio Liberty article, she had not indicated that this organization was declared as a “foreign agent” according to the the Russian Federation laws.

Mrs. Lutfiye Zudiyeva is a public activist, human rights defender and journalist who covers court trials and mass searches in Crimea, and supports the families of political prisoners. The occupying authorities have already detained her twice, the human rights defender was twice sentenced to an administrative fine.

We believe that the search, detention, and administrative penalty are one more attempt of the Russian occupation authorities to intimidate Lutfiye Zudiyeva and other human rights defenders and force her to stop her public and human rights activities.

Human rights defenders and journalists are one of the vulnerable groups subject to consistent persecution in the occupied Crimea. Among the human rights defenders persecuted by the Russian authorities are Mr.Emir-Useyin Kuku, a member of the Crimean Contact Group on Human Rights, Mr.Server Mustafayev, a “Crimean Solidarity” coordinator, and Ms.Iryna Danylovych, a citizen journalist and human rights defender. They all have been sentenced to long term confinement on trumped-up charges.

In addition, since the first years of the occupation, at least 13 lawyers have become victims of the Russian occupation authorities hounding in the form of arbitrary searches, detentions, administrative arrests, and fines in politically motivated cases, debarring, tied-up mobile communication, threats of criminal persecution, etc.

For instance, just recently, on February 15, 2024, in Simferopol, the CEE operatives again detained lawyer Mr. Emil Kurbedinov near the building of the Russian Federation FSB and drew up an administrative report on him under the same article, as in the case of Lutfiye Zudiyeva (RF CoAO, Article 13.15-9). Due to hounding and pressing that the lawyers are subject to, their clients do not receive timely legal assistance during searches, court hearings or other procedural actions, worsening the situation of victims of human rights violations in the occupied Crimea, which has become dire already.

In violation of its international legal obligations in accordance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Russian Federation is consistent in intervening arbitrarily and unlawfully in personal and family life and encroaching arbitrarily and unlawfully on inviolability of dwelling of the Ukrainian citizens living in the occupied Crimea. Having removed the judicial system of Ukraine in Crimea, the occupying power has been using the controlled “courts” to persecute public activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and all disloyal residents of Crimea on political grounds, depriving them of their right to freedom of thought and expression.

To stop the further persecution of Mrs.Lutfiye Zusiyeva and other human rights defenders, journalists, public activists in Crimea, we encourage:

a) Human rights organizations of Ukraine and other democratic countries:

·         to monitor constantly the cases of arbitrary searches and detentions of human rights defenders, journalists, public activists in Crimea and disseminate information about them;

·         to provide legal, informational, educational, and other support to victims of persecution in the occupied Crimea, including public activists, human rights defenders, and journalists;

·         to demand introducing personal sanctions against persons directly involved in human rights violations in the occupied Crimea, and increasing consistent pressure on the Russian Federation to de-occupy the territory of Ukraine as soon as possible, from the democratic countries’ governments;

b) Independent media, editors, and journalists:

·         to demonstrate professional solidarity and implement an information campaign, covering in detail the practice of arbitrary searches and detentions of public activists, journalists, and human rights defenders in the occupied Crimea;

c) Governmental bodies of Ukraine:

·         to investigate the unlawful search and detention of Mrs.Zudiyeva and to bring the guilty to justice:

·         to make every effort to release Crimean political prisoners, in particular public activists, human rights defenders, and journalists;

·         to initiate introducing personal sanctions against persons involved in the persecution of Lutfiye Zudiyeva;

d) Governments of democratic countries of the world, including the International Crimea Platform members:

·         to express a strong consolidated protest against the politically motivated persecution of Lutfiye Zudiyeva and other public activists, human rights defenders, and journalists in the occupied Crimea;

·         to keep a close and regular watch on human rights violations in the Crimean Peninsula, in particular on the persecution of public activists, human rights defenders, and journalists, and to promptly respond to them;

·         to introduce personal sanctions against persons involved in the persecution of Lutfiye Zudiyeva and increase consistent pressure on Russia to de-occupy the territory of Ukraine as soon as possible and restore its territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders.

Crimean Human Rights Group

ZMINA Center for Human Rights

CrimeaSOS CA

CRIMEAN PROCESS CA

DIYA Human Rights Center

Center for Civil  Liberties

Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union

ALMENDA Center for Civil Education

Regional Center for Human Rights

Human Rights House CRIMEA

Educational Human Rights House CHERNIHIV

Media Initiative for Human Rights

Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group

CF “EAST SOS”

Crimean discourse