Pro-Ukrainian activist urgently left Crimea due to persecution of the FSB

Pro-Ukrainian activist Natalia Kharchenko was forced to urgently leave the occupied Crimea due to the persecution of the Federal Security Service of Russia.

As reported by Crimean Human Rights Group (CHRG).

According to Kharchenko herself, currently the FSB plans to initiate criminal proceedings against her in Simferopol, where she lived with young children and parents.

“Crimean woman arrived in Kyiv with little to no belongings, leaving her children temporarily to her parents”, – said in a statement.

As reminded by the CHRG, on 12 January 2017, FSB officers have conducted an illegal search in the house of the family of Ukrainian activists Natalia Kharchenko and Andriy Vynohradov under the guise of a so-called vowel survey of housing and seized several computers. Afterwards, a pre-investigation check was initiated regarding the Crimean woman under Article 280.1 part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Public appeals for the performance of actions aimed at violating the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation”.

According to Crimean lawyer Edem Semedlyaev, the FSB investigator has already collected two volumes of information for this “case”.

As reported by the CHRG, Natalia Kharchenko was monthly summoned to the FSB for “inquiries”, after which her chronic illness sharply worsened.

After the search and interrogation, Andriy Vynohradov lost his job in Crimea and was also forced to leave for Kyiv.