ZMINA met with candidates for the European Parliament in the Czech Republic

In late April and early May, the international advocacy officer of Human Rights Centre ZMINA, Tetiana Zhukova, went on an advocacy trip to the Czech Republic with the support of the NGO Nesehnuti. She met with MEP candidates from different parties, as well as the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, civil society, the Ukrainian community and journalists.

Photo: Meeting with Johanna Nejedlová from the Zelení Party

On 6-9 June, 27 EU countries will hold elections to the European Parliament, which will decide the institution’s future course for the next 5 years. The European Parliament is one of the three main institutions in the EU that elects the president of the European Commission, approves its members, sets up committees to investigate violations of EU law and adopts the European budget. In addition, the European Parliament adopts resolutions and appeals to other countries.

Taking into account the importance of the European Parliament and its members in the international arena, the Czech organisation Nesehnuti initiated the trip before the elections so that from the very beginning of their mandate, MEPs would keep Ukraine at the top of the agenda, pass resolutions on civilian Ukrainians illegally detained by Russia and call on the world to support the victims of Russian armed aggression.

Photo: Meeting with Markéta Gregorová and Mikuláš Peksa from the Piráti Party

In particular, Tetiana Zhukova met with candidates from TOP 09, KDU-ČSL, SPOLU, Piráti, and Zelení. The candidates received recommendations for resolutions, appeals and political statements: about Ukrainians in captivity, deported children and destroyed culture, about the fact that the war began 10 years ago and all victims need justice, about the need to create a mechanism for the return of Ukrainian civilians from captivity through third-party mediation.

“It is important to point out the issues that require special attention before the start of their mandate: just 500 kilometres from the Czech Republic, missiles are flying over civilian homes, women and pensioners are being tortured in basements, children are being abducted and their identities erased, people are dying… And all this against the backdrop of the Kremlin’s constant nuclear threats and open hatred of the “collective West”. Immediately after the elections, MEPs must actively start working to support Ukraine in defending itself against Russian aggression and restoring justice, because we cannot afford to waste time that we do not have”, Zhukova said.

In addition, the international advocacy officer of ZMINA met with officials of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in particular with Deputy Minister Jan Marian. She raised the issue of Czech diplomats’ visits to trials against Ukrainians in the Russian Federation, the inaction of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the involvement of so-called “neutral” countries in developing a mechanism for the return of Ukrainians from Russian captivity, the need to maintain attention to human rights violations in the temporarily occupied Crimea, and writing letters to political prisoners as part of the Letters to Free Crimea campaign.

Jan Marian took the recommendations into account and assured of his unwavering support for Ukraine: “I assured Ukrainian human rights defenders that Ukrainian political prisoners are not forgotten.The Czech Republic closely monitors the observance of human rights in the occupied Crimea, speaks out about human rights violations and supports those who defend them”.

Photo: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jan Marian and the international advocacy officer of ZMINA Tetiana Zhukova

The representative of ZMINA also gave several interviews about victims of human rights violations and war crimes committed due to Russian aggression against Ukraine for the Czech media iDNES.cz and iROZHLAS. She told the readers about the Crimean civilian journalist Iryna Danylovych, against whom the Russians falsified the case and sentenced her to 7 years in prison, and about political prisoners Konstiantyn Shyrinh and Dzhemil Hafarov, who died in Russian prisons, about the SMM manager Leniie Umerova, who is accused of “espionage” by the Russians, about Mariupol resident Mariana Checheliuk, who has been held in captivity by the Russians for two years without any reason.

“It still shocks me how many civilian Ukrainians are being held captive by Russia. I am also shocked that even though ten years have passed since the occupation of Crimea began, we have not yet come up with any effective mechanism for their release. We have exchanged only dozens of civilian prisoners with Russia, and there are many thousands of them. They are keeping our people in basements, and we have to act”, said Tetiana.

Photo: Tetiana Zhukova with iROZHLAS journalist Anna Košlerová

Finally, Zhukova met with Czech civil society, the Office of the Democratic Forces of Belarus and the Ukrainian community. The parties discussed the latest data on human rights violations, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Russian occupiers; exchanged experience in supporting political prisoners; agreed on further joint actions and agreed on the need to increase efforts to support Ukraine and reduce Russia’s influence in the EU.

Photo: Tetiana Zhukova

The European Parliament elections are approaching at a time when radical parties that justify Russia’s aggression against Ukraine are gaining supporters. We need to fight for the democratic system, and one of the tools is voting. Urge the Europeans you know to vote for democracy, the future of the European Union, and our common future!