Occupying power halves list of places for peaceful assemblies in Crimea

Russian de facto authorities in Crimea have halved the number of places for holding public events such as assemblies, rallies, marches, demonstrations, picketing.

As the Crimean Human Rights Group reports, the Russian authorities in Crimea indicated the list of 717 places where it was allowed to hold peaceful assemblies in 2014, but earlier this year the list was updated and only 336 such places were left.

In particular, the number of places where it is allowed to hold peaceful assemblies was considerably reduced in Yevpatoria, Sudak, Yalta. In Dzhankoy, Krasnoperekopsk and Sovietskyi, Saki, Bakhchisarai, Leninsky and Nizhnegorsky regions, the list of places for peaceful assemblies was halved. In Krasnoperekopsk, Krasnohvardiiske, Chornomorske and Dzhankoy regions, such places were reduced by three times, and in Kerch they were reduced by five times. Meanwhile it is forbidden now to hold peaceful protest near the Kerch City Council.

The human rights activists report that the reason for these changes is not specified.

The Crimean Human Rights Group noted that by doing this the Russian authorities in Crimea unreasonably restrict the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 20), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 21) and the European Convention on Human Rights (Article 11).