
Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on political repressions of Russia against the citizens of Ukraine
The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses strong protest and indignation
in connection with yet another wave of political repressions and violations of
human rights by the Kremlin against the citizens of Ukraine.
The Russian
occupying authorities continue to discriminate on national and religious
grounds in the occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol,
persecuting ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars.
Last month,
there were at least 5 politically motivated sentences of imprisonment, 7
persons were arrested or fined. Just last week there were at least 3 searches
in the houses of the Crimean Tatars.
Tried and
tested by NKVD, cynical mass searches, as well as detention of a number of
those who advocated for arrested 76 years old Server Karametov
demonstrate the ongoing impudent offensive of the Kremlin regime against all dissenting
with the occupation.
Despite
numerous calls by Ukraine and the international community to
immediately release all illegally detained and convicted Ukrainians, the
Russian leadership continue shameful practice of using the citizens of Ukraine
as hostages of its aggressive policy against our state by presenting them with
trumped-up charges.
We express
our grave concern at the deterioration of the health status of Ruslan Zeitullayev, citizen of
Ukraine, illegally convicted on the territory of Russia, who, on July 27, 2017
began another hunger strike as a protest against Russian legal arbitrariness in
connection with his unjustified sentencing of up to 15 years. We urge the
Russian side to immediately allow Ukrainian doctors to examine Ruslan Zeitulaev.
Ukraine
urges the Russian Federation to release, immediately and without any additional
conditions, all illegally detained citizens of Ukraine as well as to stop the
practice of political persecution and repressions against our compatriots.