The second day of the Crimean Week in Brussels: ZMINA’s exhibition and the presentation of the book “The Free Voices of Crimea”

The Crimean Week continues in Brussels – an international initiative aimed at drawing attention to the human rights situation in the temporarily occupied peninsula. The second day, 13 May 2025, began with a session in the European Parliament with the participation of: Nariman Dzhelyal, Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Olha Kuryshko, Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and Olha Skrypnyk, Head of the Crimean Human Rights Group.

During the session, the participants focused on the systematic human rights violations in Crimea and the importance of international pressure on Russia. They also discussed the danger of silence, as the occupied peninsula is still a “grey area” for many international observers.

Nariman Dzhelyal, First Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, began his speech in the European Parliament by mentioning Khatidzhe Buiukchan, a girl detained by the occupation authorities on 6 May. Her fate remains unknown.

“Crimea has been occupied by Russia for 11 years… Crimean residents are forced to live in an atmosphere of fear, forced to take actions against their will under pressure from the occupation authorities,” he stressed.

Dzhelyal warned that Russia will not be satisfied with Crimea alone, as the aggressor country’s goal is the whole of Ukraine.

He also recalled the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people in 1944 and called on European countries to recognise it as genocide.

The second day of the Crimean Week ended with the opening of an exhibition by the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, dedicated to the work of civilian journalists in the occupied Crimea.

The event also featured a presentation of the book “The Free Voices of Crimea“, which collected testimonies of those who did not remain silent about repression, persecution and human rights violations on the peninsula. These are the voices of those who are being forced to remain silent. These stories should be heard in the centre of Europe, the organisers of the exhibition said.

“The Free Voices of Crimea” is a joint initiative of PEN Ukraine, The Ukrainians Media, Vivat Publishing House and the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The book collects portraits of sixteen political prisoners-journalists who are fighting for human rights and freedom of speech on the occupied peninsula. Russia has imprisoned them for terms ranging from seven to nineteen years. Most of the individuals featured in the book are Crimean Tatars. The main focuses of the book are on Asan Akhtem, Amet Suleimanov, Remzi Bekirov, Osman Arifmemetov, Iryna Danylovych, Oleksii Bessarabov, Seiran Saliiev, Rustem Sheikhaliiev, Server Mustafaiev, Marlen (Suleiman) Asanov, Vilen Temerianov, Ruslan Suleimanov, Tymur Ibrahimov, Ernes Ametov, and Vladyslav Yesypenko.

Representatives of the media, including Radio Liberty and Ukrinform, as well as journalists from a leading French publication, attended the exhibition and the book presentation in Brussels. Their presence sent an important signal of the international press’s interest in the topic of Crimea.

After the event, the participants joined the letter-writing campaign to support political prisoners.

Read more about the events of the First Crimean Week here: https://cutt.ly/KrlURoFz