Review of human rights violations in the occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions | August, 2019
In August 2019, in the occupied Lugansk and Donetsk regions, which are under control of the administration of the Russian Federation (RF), new facts of human rights violations were discovered: illegal detention and restrictions on the freedom of movement of civilians, the creation of a parallel legal system, violation of property rights, involving minors in propaganda. Unfortunately, all these human rights violations have become a “Norm” for residents of the territories of the so-called “people’s republics”.
1. Illegal arrests, detentions and restrictions on freedom of movement
In late July, the so-called “Supreme Court of the Luhansk People’s Republic” sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment of an alleged SBU agent under the pseudonym “Swede”.
During the “investigation” it was established that “a resident of Lugansk Sekatsky D.V. “he gave his voluntary consent to cooperate with a foreign intelligence service, giving it information constituting a state secret for a monetary reward.”
On August 1, 2019, a message appeared on the website of the so-called “MGB LPR” about the “discovery” in Lugansk of the son of SBU officers Vladislav Bezugly, “who was trying to hide in the Republic for debts to Ukrainian drug dealers. ”
In order to stop activities that threaten the state security of the LPR, a decision was made to ban of Vladislav Bezuglom from entering to the territory of the Republic.
August 2, 2019 on the media website, which is controlled by the occupation administration of the Russian Federation, “Donetsk news agency”, a message appeared from the press service of the so-called “MGB DPR” on the conviction of a citizen of Ukraine Sergey Viktorovich Robak, born in 1979, before 12 years of imprisonment with partial confiscation of property on charges of espionage in benefit of Ukraine.
On August 13, 2019, the Eastern Human Rights Group announced the detention of Sergei Vladimirovich Rusinov, a second-year student in the College of Culture and Arts, in occupied Lugansk. It is noted that the detention took place on August 24, 2018, but human rights activists learned about this only now.
“Sergei was detained under article 244 of the so-called “LPR” code – organization of terrorist group activities. According to the so-called investigative “MGB LPR”, Sergey is the organizer of a pro-Ukrainian terrorist group and actively adheres to a pro-Ukrainian position.”
At the same time, according to human rights activists, the guy was simply an active user of social networks and curses supported pro-Ukrainian posts.
The so-called “LPR” court convicted Sergei Rusinov of up to 6 years and sent him to Slavyanoserbsky prison No. 60.
On August 13, 2019, on the website of the media, which is controlled by the occupation administration of the Russian Federation, “Donetsk News Agency”, a press service of the so-called “MGB DPR” reported on the illegal detention of a person suspected of undermining high-voltage poles in the city of Shakhtersk, Donetsk region. The name of the person has not yet been clarified.
On the same day, information appeared on the website of the prosecutor general’s office of the so-called DPR on the conviction of a citizen of Ukraine, a resident of Makeevka, Donetsk region, for 6 years in prison for his pro-Ukrainian position: “a defendant in criminal cases, from February 2016 to March 2017, acting out of his own intentions, with the aim of establishing and approving pro-Ukrainian political views, denying the essence of the creation and existence of the Republic as a sovereign state, on his own page in the social network posted public statements and illustrations calling for extremist activities.”
On August 15, 2019, the website “v-variant.com.ua” published information from the “MGB DPR” about the 11-year sentence of imprisonment of Roman Ghysi for “espionage” in favor of the Security Service of Ukraine.
The MGB claimed that from July to October 2017, Roman with the help of messengers allegedly passed testimonies to the Ukrainian special services that were “obtained as a result of monitoring personal vehicles of UNM DPR military personnel”, as well as photographs of houses of their permanent addresses. It is also reported that the man allegedly “obtained information about the first persons of the DPR”.
On August 16, 2019, the website “novosti.dn.ua” published information from the “MGB of LPR” on the sentence of 12 years in prison of a resident of Sverdlovsk, a citizen of Ukraine, Alexander Yakovenko, for espionage in favor of the SBU.
On August 21, 2019, the so-called “Supreme Court of the Lugansk People’s Republic” sentenced Roman Korkishko, a resident of Alchevsk, to 12 years in prison for “committing a crime under Article 335 of the LC of the LPR “High treason”. The report said that Roman Korkishko “carried out passenger transportation through the contact line, was recruited by SBU officers with the pseudonym “Karlson” at the checkpoint “Mayorsk-Zaitsevo”.
On August 22, 2019, the website of the so-called “MGB of the LPR” reported on the detention of Getman Egor Yurievich, the man was accused of “committing a crime under Article 336 of the LPR Criminal Code “Espionage”. It is also reported that Yegor Getman “was abandoned on the territory of Lugansk for sabotage and intelligence activities as a result of the exchange of prisoners of war according to the “legend” of a political prisoner.”
Later, a video with the so-called “recognition” appeared on the site of the “MGB LPR”.
On August 28, 2019, a message appeared on the Donbass News website that the so-called “DPR” had been holding Yury Perebiynos, who had long been the director of the Donetskgorodvodokanal utility company, in the pre-trial detention center of Donetsk for two months now.
2. Creation of a parallel legal system, advocacy, notaries, courts
In the occupied Donetsk and Lugansk regions, the occupation administrations of the Russian Federation and the mass media controlled by them continue to inform local residents and the world public about the activities of their “state bodies” and the results of their “work”. Note that this activity has no legal force and is aimed only to demonstrate the so-called “statehood” in the “republics”.
On August 1, 2019, “deputies” of the so-called “People’s Council of the LPR” during the plenary bill “On Amending Legislation of the Lugansk People’s Republic of the People’s Republic”.
3. Coercion to membership in “public” organizations and participation in “patriotic” and “social” actions of the “LPR” and “DPR”. Involving children in propaganda.
In the occupied Donetsk and Lugansk regions controlled by the occupation administrations of the Russian Federation, military-patriotic propaganda is being conducted among children, adolescents and youth with their involvement in membership in “public” organizations. Employees of budgetary enterprises and enterprises in which the so-called “external management” has been introduced are actively involved in membership in “public” organizations are.
On August 22, 2019, the media website, which is controlled by the occupation authorities of the Russian Federation, the Lugansk Information Center, reported that more than 100 youth activists of the Republic aged 16 to 25 participate in the four-day military training camps of Soyuz-Bulat. It also says what the youth will do: “During the event, participants will acquire the primary knowledge and skills necessary for military service, listen to the course of lectures Primary Health Care, Topography, mine-demining, Civil Defense, and also meet with veterans of the Great Patriotic wars and will take part in various sport trainings”.
4. Violation of property rights
In August 2019, in the Lugansk and Donetsk regions under the control of the occupation administration of the Russian Federation, the process of the so called “nationalization” of enterprises that previously operated under the jurisdiction of Ukraine or belong to citizens of Ukraine who have been living in the territory controlled by Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict has continued.
So, in “LNR” in August 2019, the so-called “State Committee on Taxes and Fees” posted 47 announcements about the discovery of abandoned property.
