UN records 104 cases of pro-Ukrainian Crimeans abducted in past 10 years

Since 2014, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has documented 104 cases of abduction and 55 cases of torture committed by Russian forces in Crimea against pro-Ukrainian activists.

The mission stated that Russia had illegally imposed its "citizenship", "laws", and "institutions" on the people of Crimea in all aspects of life, suppressing opposition and dissent.

In particular, the leaders of the Crimean Tatars who oppose the occupation of Crimea were particularly affected by repressions, according to a UN report dated 28 February.

Many Crimean Tatars were forced to leave the peninsula, and the invaders replaced them with Russians. According to the United Nations, it is an "apparent attempt to change the peninsula’s demographic structure".

"Over the past decade, we have documented efforts by the Russian Federation to impose the Russian language, culture, and institutional framework on Crimea while at the same time taking actions to erase the peninsula’s rich cultural, linguistic, and religious heritage," said the head of HRMMU, Danielle Bell.

Due to the Russian Federation's repressive policy, only 0.1% of students in Crimea study in Ukrainian. Furthermore, the invaders shut down nearly 80% of previously registered Ukrainian media.

The occupation "authorities" in Crimea suppressed minorities' freedoms of thought, expression of culture, and identity, as well as severely restricting their religious freedom.

Since the beginning of the temporary occupation, the number of registered religious organisations in Crimea has been cut in half, according to the UN.

Last year in Crimea, it was forbidden to display the Crimean Tatar flag in schools.

More than 5,000 human rights violations have been documented on the peninsula since the start of the Russian occupation (as of October 2023).

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