Russia illegally detains 181 Ukrainian political prisoners in Crimea
Crimea (Photo:Reuters)
At least 181 Ukrainian political prisoners are being illegally held by Russian occupation authorities in Crimea – including 116 Crimean Tatars – the Office of the Ukrainian Presidential Representative in Crimea said in a Facebook post on Feb. 15.
Russian law enforcement officials are becoming increasingly cruel to prisoners, the message emphasized.
“Repressions and criminal prosecutions of our citizens in the occupied Crimea are becoming more and more brutal...,” the message reads.
“Currently, the Mission is aware of 181 political prisoners, 116 of which are Crimean Tatars. Of the total number of illegally detained, 40 are in pre-trial detention centers awaiting sentencing, 123 have already been sentenced and imprisoned, and 18 are without any (confirmed) status.”
Furthermore, 33 of the prisoners were illegally transferred from Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts to occupied Crimea. However, the exact number of displaced prisoners remains unknown, as the occupiers' authorities generally do not admit that they are holding people in detention centers on the peninsula.
Meanwhile, dozens of elderly people and those with serious health problems remain in detention and are not provided with proper medical care. Their lives are under threat, the message stressed.
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