Section: Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (Ukraine)
Horrifically tortured and murdered, or imprisoned in Crimea and Donbas for the Ukrainian Flag
Ukraine marked National Flag Day on August 23, remembering Volodymyr Rybak who was tortured and murdered for his defence of the Flag, and with at least three Ukrainians imprisoned in Russian-occupied Crimea or by the Russian-backed militants in Donbas for the same reason …read more Source: Kharkiv Human Rights Protection...
Mask show at the Odesa SIZO
This unlawful practice is still used and remains unpunished, despite the declared penitentiary reform. Now this beating in the Odesa SIZO has already been muffled in the long familiar fashion …read more Source: Kharkiv Human Rights Protection...
Ukraine’s Independence Day in Russian-occupied Crimea: “You feel the difference between freedom and non-freedom”
‘Only’ two Ukrainian activists were detained in Russian-occupied Crimea on Ukraine’s Independence Day. That, however, was probably because most Ukrainians celebrated the day with family and friends. As one Ukrainian put it, coming out to any kind of event could cost you your liberty. …read more Source: Kharkiv Human Rights...
Russia deploys armed police to stop Crimean Tatar remembrance gathering
In typically heavy-handed measures on August 20, armed and often masked enforcement officers prevented an entirely peaceful gathering dedicated to the thirtieth anniversary of protests in Moscow that showed how well-organized and courageous Crimean Tatars could be in upholding their right to live in their homeland, and first truly alerted the...
Russia again flouts European Court to hide Crimean Tatar political prisoner Ruslan Zeytullaev
Ruslan Zeytullaev has, fortunately, ended the hunger strike declared in protest at his increased sentence and the persecution of the Crimean Tatar people, but for a worrying reason. The 31-year-old Crimean Tatar, whose release has been demanded by European bodies as well as human rights NGO’s is being sent thousands of kilometres from his...
Cowardly final brutality as Russia releases jailed 76-year-old Crimean Tatar Server Karametov
Server Karametov, the frail, seriously ill, and courageous pensioner whom a court in Russian-occupied Crimea jailed for peaceful protest, was released on Saturday evening after 10 days’ imprisonment. It had seemed that the occupation regime could sink no lower, yet it found a way. …read more Source: Kharkiv Human Rights Protection...
Putin’s Russia rehabilitates Stalin, prosecutes Last Address Activist for Plaque to Victim of the Terror
In yet another move in Russia to silence those telling the truth about the Great Terror and Stalinism in general, Dmitry Kozlov has been fined for erecting a Last Address plaque, part of the civic initiative honouring the memory of individual victims of the Terror. …read more Source: Kharkiv Human Rights Protection...
Donbas Militants Coordinate Fake ‘Ukrainian Saboteur’ Arrests with Russian FSB
A day after Russia’s FSB produced a video of a Ukrainian ‘confessing’ to his part in an SBU plot to commit acts of sabotage in Crimea, Donbas and Russia, Kremlin-backed militants have come up with their own videoed arrest. The alleged saboteur is seen supposedly being seized in the middle of summer wearing a jersey, leather jacket and...
Return to Selective Justice Feared in Ukraine over Prosecution of Anti-Corruption Activist
A prominent anti-corruption campaigner is facing criminal charges that seem ominously reminiscent of the selective prosecutions seen under the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych. While Vitaly Shabunin did indeed punch Vsevolod Filimonenko, the circumstances and effect are by no means straightforward. Questions must also be asked as to why criminal...
The Challenge Ahead in Eastern Ukraine
Bloody fighting between government troops and pro-Kremlin separatists and Russian regulars has continued for three years in Ukraine’s east. Meanwhile, an equally fierce battle is being waged for the hearts and minds of civilians on the Ukrainian side, many of whose loyalties hover between Kyiv and Moscow. …read more Source: Kharkiv...
