What changed

B100232/2024

European Parliament resolution on the 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

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 itsRule previous150(5) resolutionsand on136(4) Crimea;of its Rules of Procedure,

 having regard to rule 150 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas since February 2014, Crimea has been temporarily occupied by Russia, which illegally annexed it, following an unlawful and internationally unrecognised referendum;

A. Whereas 2024 marks the eleventh year since the illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in manifest violation of its obligations under the UN Charter, international law and Helsinki Final Act;

B. whereas Crimeans continue to experience severe human rights violations, unlawful conscription to the Russian army, forced passportisation and Russification, arbitrary detentions, often on trumped-up terrorism charges, enforced disappearances, torture, extrajudicial killings, the absence of freedom of opinion, assembly, association and religion;

B. Whereas international organisations have since repeatedly documented the continuously worsening violations of human rights and international humanitarian law perpetrated by the occupying authorities in Crimea, including intimidation, invasive house searches, violation of property rights, arbitrary arrest or detention, judicial harassment, torture or ill-treatment, suppression of expression of religion, culture and identity and enforced disappearance;

C. whereas the Russian occupying authorities are particularly targeting Crimean Tatars, ethnic Ukrainians and ethnic minorities, and have resettled up to 800 000 Russians, forcibly altering the demographic composition of Crimea along ethnic lines in a neo-colonial manner, which constitutes a war crime under international law;

C. Whereas the Russian Federation, as an occupying power, continues to systematically target annexation critics, ethnic Ukrainians and other ethnic, religious or national groups; the Crimean Tatar community, particularly officials of the Mejlis and other Muslim entities;

D. whereas there are over 200 Crimean political prisoners in Russian detention facilities, including 133 Crimean Tatars and 67 political prisoners with severe health problems that require assistance;

D. Whereas Mejlis-Kurultai is recognized as the sole legitimate representative of the Crimean Tatar people who have full rights to their historical, cultural, and legal indigenous heritage;

E. whereas Crimean journalist and human rights defender Iryna Danylovych was abducted in 2022, accused of possessing explosives and sentenced to 6 years and 11 months of imprisonment; whereas NGO activist Tofik Abdulhaziiev was arrested in 2019 and sentenced to 12 years in a maximum security prison on trumped-up charges, and since 2023 is being held in a prison some 2 700 km away from Crimea; whereas citizen journalist Amet Suleymanov was sentenced to 12 years of prison in 2021;

E. Whereas Crimean human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers and membersF. ofwhereas civilmany societyCrimeans continue to be persecuted, including Iryna Danylovych, Tofik Abdulhaziev, Amet Suleymanov,including: Emil Kurbedinov, Server Mustafayev, Emir-Usein Kuku, Lutfiye Zudiyeva, Kulamet Ibraimov, Abdureshit Dzhepparov, Edem Semedlyaev, Rustem Kyamilev, Oleksandr Sizikov, Halyna DovhopolaDovhopola, Ruslan Abdurakhmanov, Rustem Huhuryk and Lilia Hemedzhy;

1. Reiterates its condemnation of the illegal occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by the Russian Federation and reaffirms its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders;Russia;

2. Calls for the immediate and unconditional release and provision of medical assistance to all human rights defenders and political prisoners in occupied Crimea, and especially to those in dire medical condition such as Tofik Abdulhaziiev, Amet Suleymanov, Iryna Danylovych, Oleksandr Sizikov, and Halyna Dovhopola; denounces the upholding of verdicts against seriously ill individuals, which constitutes a blatant violation of international human rights standards;

2. Condemns Russia’s continuous targeting of ethnic Ukrainians and systematic persecution of indigenous Crimean Tatars, which aims to erase their identity, heritage and culture, echoing, for the Crimean Tatars, the genocidal deportations of 1944; considers that Crimea’s future is tied to its recognition as the Crimean Tatars’ historic homeland;

3. Condemns the ongoing persecution of journalists, civil society activists,activists and human rights defenders in the occupied territories and the deportation of civilians including political prisoners from Crimea to penitentiary institutions across the Russian Federation,Russia, contrary to international humanitarian law;

4. Calls for the restoration and reintegration of the Mejlis-Kurultai into the Ukrainian state system;

4. Demands the immediate and unconditional release of Iryna Danylovych, Tofik Abdulhaziiev and Amet Suleymanov and other political prisoners; calls for immediate medical care to be provided; denounces the upholding of verdicts against seriously ill individuals, which constitutes a blatant violation of international human rights standards; calls on the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN to establish the whereabouts of civilian detainees from Crimea;

5. Condemns the informational isolation imposed trough crackdown on local and foreign media and reiterates its demand for unimpeded access to the occupied territories to be granted to media, regional and international human rights monitoring mechanisms and human rights non-governmental organisations;

5. Calls on the international community to continue its policy of non-recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea; supports efforts for its de-occupation, such as the Crimean Platform; calls for the strengthening of sanctions against individuals and legal entities involved in the illegal annexation;

6. Calls for the imposition of EU restrictive measures against law enforcement officials responsible for enforcing Russian law in the illegally annexed territories who have persecuted human rights defenders and committed other human rights violations.

6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the VP/HR, the relevant EU institutions and the Russian and Ukrainian authorities.

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Governments and Parliaments of the Member States, the President, Government, and Parliament of the Russian Federation.