Russia's occupation of Crimea has brought numerous abuses of human rights. The Tatars in Crimea, who make up 12 percent of the Crimean population, have been a prime target of discrimination.
The Human Rights Watch, or HRW, released a 37-page report on Monday detailing the degradation of human rights in the Crimean peninsula since Russia's occupation in February of 2014. HRW interviewed 42 individuals including Tatars, journalists, lawyers, and activists.
One of the human rights abuses involves the forced disappearances of Tatars and Pro-Ukrainian activists. HRW reports 15 cases of these forced disappearances. "The true number of forced disappearances is likely to be higher," says HRW. These 15 reports include descriptions of activists who were abducted during various months after the Russian occupation of Crimea, many of whom are still missing. HRW reports that 2 of the 15 abuducted have been found dead.
"Edem Asanov, a Crimean Tatar who was not politically active but had occasionally discussed on his social network VKontakte page issues related to the situation of Crimean Tatars, disappeared on September 29 in Evpatoria, a resort town approximately 60 km from Simferopol, on his way to work. Six days later, police found Asanov's body hanged in an abandoned building in Evpatoria. The circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear," reports HRW.
Besides these disappearances, the Russian occupation has harassed the Mejlis, which is the ultimate self-governing body for Crimean Tatars and is comprised of 33 members. The Mejlis, who have openly criticized Russian policies and government, have experienced strict monitoring and unequal treatment by authorities.
Members of the Mejlis have been subject to random searches, are questioned during travel to and from the Ukraine, and have had their valuables confiscated. Russian authorities have accused members of the Mejlis of being extremists.
The UN considers Crimea as a part of the Ukraine, and Russia's military involvement in Crimea is an occupation. Despite Crimea's association as a Ukrainian territory, Russian authorities have issued ultimatums to Crimean citizens to either convert to Russian citizenship, or be considered foreigners and risk exile from Crimea.
Self-defense forces in Crimea have been the arms of the Russian government in Crimea. These paramilitary forces have been responsible for many of the forced disappearances, arrests, and searches of Crimean Tatars and Pro-Ukrainian activists.
Two prominent Pro-Ukrainian politicians, Andriy Shekun and Anatoly Kovalksy, are victims of such abuses. "After detaining the activists at a train station in Simferopol, members of a self-defense unit first took both activists to a police station where they were registered in police books. After that, armed men from a self-defense unit again took both activists to an unknown location where they remained for 11 days and were repeatedly questioned, beaten, and shot at with low velocity handguns commonly called traumatic weapons in the former Soviet region. Shekun was subjected to electric shock on two occasions. When Human Rights Watch spoke to Shekun in October, he said that he filed a complaint with the police in March but had not heard anything about the progress of the investigation since June," HRW reports.
The Crimean media has also been under attack. Russia has redefined their federal policy in media to increase censorship. Crimean media-outlets must register under the Russian media laws. Media sources in Crimea as well as several international journalists told HRW that they are receiving "pressure and censorship."
The Russian media laws enforce a Non-Extremist Legislation that severely prohibits criticisms against the Russian government or policies.
Crimean Tatars are a significant group in relation to Russia because of the persecution they faced in the past. During World War II, the Soviet Russian government accused the entire Tatar population in Crimea of colluding with the Nazis and deported them to the outskirts of Soviet Russia. Of the estimated 240,000 Crimean Tatars, about half of them died during this exile. They were allowed to return in the 1980's. The Ukrainian government officially recognized the Crimean Tatars as an ethnic group in April of 2014.
