UN official says Russia's ill-treatment of Crimean people continues

By Seda Sevencan

ISTANBUL (AA) - A UN official on Friday said that Russia continues ill-treatment of people in Crimea, a Ukrainian territory illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014.

“While Crimea, occupied by the Russian Federation since 2014, has received less attention in recent months, we have seen a significant deterioration in the situation there,” Matilda Bogner, the head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring in Mission on Ukraine, said at a UN press conference.

“This includes restrictions on the exercise of fundamental freedoms, torture and ill-treatment, enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests, and violations of the right to a fair trial, as well as lack of accountability for such human rights violations,” Bogner said.

She said that 89 people have been prosecuted in Crimea for "public actions directed at discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation" since March, and teachers in Crimea who refused to endorse Russia’s "special military operation" face retaliation and sanctions.

Crimean Tatars are exposed to intimidation and harassment, police raids and house searches, and prosecution under terrorism and extremism-related offences in proceedings, she added.