Side event at the OSCE Conference in Warsaw: 10 years of the occupation of Ukrainian Crimea and resistance to the Russian aggression

Human Rights Centre ZMINA, Crimea SOS and Crimean Human Rights Group are holding a side event “Life in captivity: 10 years of the occupation of Ukrainian Crimea and resistance to the Russian aggression” at the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference with support of the Permanent Mission of Ireland to OSCE and Human Rights House Foundation. It will take place on the 1st of October at 8:30 in the Opera Hall.

Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine began on February 20, 2014, with the invasion of the Russian Armed Forces aiming to capture part of Ukrainian territory – the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

Today, the Crimean peninsula remains de facto controlled by the Russian Federation. It has turned into an open-air prison where residents live at constant risk of being persecuted, subjected to torture, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial punishment, passportization, forced conscription into the Russian military, and indoctrination.

However, a decade of oppression and persecution did not destroy human faith or democratic values. Residents of Crimea stand steadfast, transforming 10 years of suffering into 10 years of resistance.

Participants of the event will be able to listen to the experiences of a released political prisoner Nariman Dzhelyal and political prisoner’s Ali Mamutov’s relative, write letters to political prisoners, and familiarise themselves with the “Black list” of perpetrators.

At the event, speakers will discuss:

• Summarized story of the human rights violations within 10 years of the occupation
• Crimea in the context of the persecution in the “newly occupied” territories
• Testimony of a recently released political prisoner Nariman Dzhelyal
• Testimony of a relative of a political prisoner Ali Mamutov
• “Black list” of judges and other perpetrators responsible for politically motivated persecution
• Recommendations to the international community

Speakers:

• Nariman Dzhelyal, released political prisoner and Deputy Head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People
• Fevzi Mamutov, brother of the political prisoner Ali Mamutov
• Viktoria Nesterenko, Human Rights Centre ZMINA
• Iryna Baran, Crimean Human Rights Group
• Sabina Ilias, Crimea SOS

Moderator: Dave Elseroad, Human Rights House Foundation

Contact person: Tetiana Zhukova, Human Rights Centre ZMINA, tz@zmina.ua