Moscow weaponizes terror laws against civilians in occupied Crimea – CrimeaSOS
The Russian Federation frequently persecutes Ukrainian citizens in temporarily occupied Crimea using articles from its Criminal Code related to terrorist and extremist activities.
“If we compare the situation before and after the full-scale invasion, we can say that Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organisation of the activities of a terrorist organisation) remains an active tool used by the occupation administrations to persecute Crimean Tatar activists and Muslim communities, allegedly because of their affiliation with Crimean muslims,” CrimeaSOS analyst Yevhenii Yaroshenko noted.
CrimeaSOS pointed out that, of the eleven articles related to terrorism or extremism under the Criminal Code, four are used most often when persecuting Crimean Tatar activists and Muslim communities on the occupied peninsula:
- Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for liability for committing a terrorist act;
- Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for liability for public calls for terrorist activities, public justification of terrorism or propaganda of terrorism;
- Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for responsibility for organising the activities of a terrorist organisation and participating in the activities of such an organisation;
- Article 361 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for liability for an act of international terrorism.
As an example, an analyst cited the case of Oleh Prykhodko, who was illegally sentenced to 9.5 years in a strict regime colony. First, he was sentenced to five years in prison for preparing terrorist attacks, and later a Russian court added another 4.5 years in prison for publicly justifying terrorism. Many residents are charged with the latter article because of their social media posts.
Yevhen YaroshenkoYaroshenko also noted that the article on an act of international terrorism began to be used by the occupiers after February 24, 2022. It appeared in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation after the adoption of the so-called “Yarovaya anti-terrorist package” in 2016 and is used as a tool to persecute pro-Ukrainian activists in the newly occupied territories.
These articles are not only used against the Crimean Tatars, but also against the Jehova’s Witness religious community. The Jehova’s Witnesses have been recognised as an extremist organisation by the Russian government since 2017 and persecutions against members began in 2018.
The Crimean Human Rights Group in its annual report noted that 13 known Crimean political prisoners were convicted on charges of membership of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. In 2024 alone, there were 17 searches of Jehovah’s Witnesses homes, and the number of accused members has risen double since 2022, from 16 to 32.
Alongside religious groups, certain units within the Ukrainian military are considered terrorist organisations and persecutions have been commenced for supposed involvement with them, notably the Crimean Tatar Noman Chelebidzhikhan Volunteer Battalion, which was declared a terrorist organisation by the Russian Supreme Court in June 2022.
So far, at least 33 individuals have been charged and prosecuted for alleged involvement with the Noman Chelebidzhikhan Battalion, including citizens of Ukraine who were abducted in the south of Ukraine during Russia’s full-scale aggression. The legislation used for this is Article 208-2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (on participation in an illegal armed formation).
By way of background, as of February 17, 2025, Russian occupiers have illegally imprisoned 221 individuals, including 137 Crimean Tatars on the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
1203 cases were filed under Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation in illegitimate “courts” in the occupied peninsula. In 1058 cases, administrative fines or combined rulings were issued. Proceedings continue in 46 cases.
