The endeavor by Russia to compile a list of Crimeans who have been politically persecuted in Ukraine may help to shed light on the overlooked issue, the head of Crimea's Civic Chamber, Grigory Ioffe, told Sputnik Thursday
SIMFEROPOL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th December, 2019) The endeavor by Russia to compile a list of Crimeans who have been politically persecuted in Ukraine may help to shed light on the overlooked issue, the head of Crimea's Civic Chamber, Grigory Ioffe, told Sputnik Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with Russia's Human Rights Council earlier in the week, requested that a list be drawn up of Crimeans who have faced oppression at the hands of Ukrainian authorities. Tasked with compiling this list was Executive Director of Rossiya Segodnya International news Agency Kirill Vyshinsky, who spent over a year behind bars in Ukraine on espionage charges.
"Creating such a list will allow us to bring to the surface the problem of the violation of the rights of Crimeans by Ukraine," Ioffe said.
Ioffe added that he was aware of the large number of Crimeans who faced severe retribution in Ukraine.
At the Human Rights Council meeting chaired by Putin at the Kremlin on Tuesday, Vyshinsky spoke about Crimeans who are subjected to severe punishments from law enforcement and judiciary simply on account of their origin. To explain, he recounted meeting a pregnant woman who was jailed in Kiev for playing a part in organizing the 2014 referendum on rejoining Russia. Vyshinsky said the woman was forced to settle for a plea deal to avoid giving birth behind bars.
Crimea rejoined Russia in 2014 after a referendum determined that 96 percent of voters were in favor of the move. Kiev and the majority of Western countries have refused to recognize the results.
The Black Sea Peninsula was historically part of Russia during its imperial age, but Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred it to the administration of the Ukrainian SSR. The peninsula has remained predominantly ethnically Russian throughout and has maintained allegiance to Moscow despite falling to Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
