Dzheppar calls on Russia to immediately release all illegally detained Ukrainians

Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzheppar has said that Russia must immediately end detentions and arrests in the temporarily occupied Crimea and release all illegally detained Ukrainian citizens.

According to Ukrinform, she wrote about this on Twitter.

"New detentions of Crimean Tatar activists in Crimea. Among the 31 detainees are women and journalists. They met lawyer Edem Semedlyaev, whose arrest had expired. Russia must immediately end arbitrary detentions and arrests and release all illegally detained Ukrainian citizens," the tweet reads.

Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova, in turn, wrote on Telegram that a total of 31 activists had been detained, including ten women and four journalists.

"Now the people are in the 'Kyivsky Police Department of Simferopol.' It is planned that they will be transferred to different police departments," the ombudsperson added.

Denisova condemned "illegal detentions of Ukrainian citizens in the temporarily occupied Crimea."

She emphasized that "through its actions, the occupying power violates Article 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, according to which everyone has the right to freedom of expression." "This right includes, inter alia, freedom to hold opinions and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers," she added.

Lawyer Edem Semedlyaev was released from Simferopol's temporary detention facility on November 23, after 12 days of administrative arrest. Dozens of activists came to meet Semedlyaev, but Russian law enforcement officers detained them. Thirty-one people, including women and journalists, were taken to the "Kyivsky Police Department of Simferopol."

op