Monitoring in Crimea: Detention for souvenir flag and arrest for Ukrainian number plate

In June, the human rights activists recorded in the occupied Crimea two detentions, two arrests and two searches, which may testify to a violation of human rights.

This is said in the monitoring report of the Crimean Human Rights Group (CHRG), released on July 29.

The report cites the incident of detention of a man who was holding a souvenir flag of Ukraine during the celebration of the Day of Russia on June 12.

The video of the incident, posted on YouTube on June 13, shows a man holding a souvenir Ukrainian flag and shouting “Glory to Ukraine!” from a police car.

The CHRG monitors find out details of the detention and further fate of the detained man.

The CHRG report also describes an incident of detention of Oleksiy Salov, the editor-in-chief of the Arguments of the Week-Crimea online media outlet, in Simferopol on June 14. On the same day, the Kyivsky District Court of Simferopol ruled to transfer Salov to Vladimir region. The editor is accused of committing a crime under Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (extortion), as well as Article 314 (evasion of serving sentence, deprivation of liberty, as well undergoing compulsory medical treatment).

In addition, two arrests were recorded in June.

June 3, Ukrainian citizen Maksym Filatov was arrested on terrorism charges. According to prosecutors, so-called “Azov battalion fighter set fire to the mosque Chukurcha in Simferopol in April 2014 and in August 2015,” using a self-made explosive device, tried to commit a terrorist act in front of the prosecutor’s office of Crimea.

Moreover, in the morning of June 8, Saki town traffic police of the Russian Federation detained Oleh Prikhodko, the Ukrainian activist and participant in the Maidan protests in Kyiv. The reason for detention was the Ukrainian number plate on his car. Oleh Prikhodko refused to replace it with Russian plate after April 1, as was prescribed to, and continued to drive the vehicle with Ukrainian number plate.

The CHRG also recorded two searches, which violated the rights of citizens, in June.

June 2, the apartment of mother of Natalia Vaschenko in Kerch was searched. Natalia Vaschenko previously lived in Kerch with her mother, then went to Dnipro city, and came to visit her mother at the end of May 2016. The search was carried out by six people who, according to the women, wore civilian clothes. Earlier, Natalia Vashchenko worked as a volunteer in the Ukrainian hospital, where Ukrainian servicemen underwent treatment.

June 5, the house of Smail Mustafayev in the village of Krasny Mak in Bakhchsarai district was searched. The reason for the search was the case against Mustafayev, initiated by the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies in 2012.