In occupied Crimea and Russia, at least 250 Ukrainian citizens are imprisoned due to fabricated cases, according to the Crimean Human Rights Group.

In occupied Crimea and Russia, at least 250 citizens of Ukraine are imprisoned due to fabricated cases (as of the end of 2024).

This was stated by Olga Skrypnyk, the chair of the Crimean Human Rights Group, during the press conference “Occupied Crimea: Who and Why Russia Persecuted in 2024.”

She noted that the persecutions are intensifying. According to monitoring and documentation by the CHRG, most of those facing repression are charged with "diversion," "espionage," and "treason."

“This is one of the most common tools for persecuting citizens in occupied Crimea,” the human rights activist clarified.

The overwhelming majority of Ukrainians are imprisoned for politically motivated offenses.

Skrypnyk specifically addressed the fates of women who have become victims of Russian repression. According to the CHRG, at least 17 civilian women are held captive in Russia. These women are residents of Crimea, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.

“They are all purely civilians, in a very vulnerable state, in need of medical assistance, with some suffering from serious illnesses, including cancer,” the human rights activist stated.

At the same time, repression against Crimean journalists continues, with confirmed cases of 18 media workers, including civilian journalists, who have been illegally deprived of their freedom by the occupiers. Almost all of them are located in Russia.

CHRG researcher Irina Sedova explained that journalists are deliberately transferred to remote colonies to limit their ability to communicate and relay any information.

Additionally, in 2024, the occupiers conducted two illegal conscription campaigns in Crimea, during which Russians used Russian legislation to pressure local residents. Throughout the year, human rights defenders documented at least 52 cases under Article 328 of the Russian Criminal Code – evasion of military service. The vast majority of these cases ended with guilty verdicts.

According to human rights defenders, Crimean Tatars suffer the most from criminal cases that Russians use as a tool for repression.

Earlier, ZMINA reported that in December 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree “On Approving the Strategy for Countering Extremism in the Russian Federation for 2025,” which contains new threats for citizens of Ukraine under occupation.

According to CHRG researcher Irina Sedova, Putin's decree poses a danger to all Ukrainians. In particular, some parts of the document can be interpreted as a language of hostility against Ukrainians based on nationality, containing direct threats to Ukrainians, as the implementation of the strategy is supported by budgetary resources from Russia at all levels, and the fight against Ukrainians in 2025 officially becomes a strategic goal of the aggressor country, the human rights activist explained.