On 11th year of the occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by the Russian Federation and the deteriorating human… rights situation in occupied Crimea, notably the cases of Iryna Danylovych, Tofik Abdulhaziiev and Amet Suleymanov

B100219/2024

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on 11th year of the occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by the Russian Federation and the deteriorating human rights situation in occupied Crimea, notably the cases of Iryna Danylovych, Tofik Abdulhaziiev and Amet Suleymanov

(2024/2992(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Ukraine and Russia,

– having regard to Rule 150 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas Russian occupying forces in Crimea arbitrarily detain civilians, in particular politically active members of the Crimean Tatar community, journalists and other dissidents; whereas Crimean Tatars are specifically targeted with trumped-up terrorism charges;

B. whereas the Russian Federation is implementing a deliberate policy aimed at forcibly altering the demographic composition of Crimea, primarily along ethnic lines, which constitutes a war crime under international law;

C. whereas the occupying Russian authorities in Crimea have detained over 218 people on politically motivated charges, including 132 Crimean Tatars; whereas detainees are routinely denied medical care;

D. whereas Iryna Danylovych is a journalist and a human rights defender, who was abducted in 2022 by Russian security agents and sentenced to over 6 years imprisonment on trumped-up charges; whereas Danylovych suffered a stroke and became partly deaf due to lacking medical aid;

E. whereas Tofik Abdulhaziiev is an Crimean social activist who was arrested in 2019 and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment on false charges ,was transferred to a Russian prison and later diagnosed with tuberculosis;

F. whereas Amet Suleymanov is a journalist covering the repression of Crimean Tatars who was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment while he suffers from a life-threatening heart condition which requires immediate medical care;

1. Condemns in the strongest possible terms Russia’s continued war of aggression against Ukraine and demands that Russia immediately terminate all military activities in Ukraine, unconditionally withdraw all forces from the entire internationally recognised territory of Ukraine and compensate Ukraine for the damage caused;

2. Demands that Russia immediately ceases all its violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law against residents of the temporarily occupied Crimea and other occupied territories of Ukraine;

3. Considers that the future of Crimea must be inextricably tied to the recognition and protection of the Crimean Tatars' inherent right to the peninsula as their historic homeland;

4. Urgently calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Iryna Danylovych, Tofik Abdulhaziiev, and Amet Suleymanov; insists further that Russia releases and repatriates all unlawfully detained Ukrainians, ensures adequate medical care, shares information on their whereabouts, and allows communication with their families, lawyers and international actors including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID);

5. Calls on the ICRC and UN WGEID to take all required measures to establish the whereabouts and health state of civilian detainees from temporarily occupied Crimea and other occupied territories of Ukraine;

6. Recalls the need for the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine which would cover Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since 2014;

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the VP/HR, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the President of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada, the ICRC, OHCHR, and the Russian authorities.