Russian occupiers hold 220 Crimean political prisoners, issue 12,000 illegitimate ‘court decisions’ on deportation from peninsula – the Mission of the President of Ukraine in Crimea
The Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is currently aware of 220 political prisoners from the peninsula being held by Russia. Separately, the Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol has statistical data on 12,000 “court decisions” by the occupying authorities ordering the deportation of civilians from Crimea.
Vitalii Sekretar, First Deputy Head of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol, said at a briefing that he and his colleagues noticed a certain trend during war crimes investigations: When law enforcement officers found specific victims and began communicating with them, many did not realize they were victims at all.
“Perhaps it is because people perceive the term ‘war crime’ as somewhat synonymous with war. And so it seems to them that a war crime occurs only when shells are flying and hostilities are taking place, but that is not the case. Any occupation regime is already equivalent to an armed conflict regime,” Sekretar explained.
He also reported that about 55,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Crimea are registered in Ukraine. At the same time, a large number of people have not received this status, with about 28,000 refusing it outright. Many Crimean residents have traveled to third countries.
The Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol urges victims of war crimes to contact the prosecutor’s office. They can report cases such as the seizure of property from lawful owners, the illegal conscription of Ukrainian citizens in Crimea, and forced passportization.
Officials spoke about Russia’s illegal imprisonment and deportations during the presentation of the media project “War Crimes in Crimea,” which is designed to explain human rights violations under occupation and how victims can defend their rights in an accessible language. The first video, featuring Akhtem Seitablayev, discusses the issue of forced deportation.
Olha Kuryshko, Permanent Representative of the President in Crimea, clarified that Ukraine is addressing several types of deportation, including forced expulsions from the occupied peninsula and the transfer of political prisoners.
Olha Kuryshko“We currently know of 220 political prisoners, the majority of whom are being held in the Russian Federation,” Olha Kuryshko noted.
Earlier, Victoria Nesterenko, project manager for the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, stated that as of August 2025, 98 political prisoners from Crimea required urgent medical assistance in Russian penitentiary institutions or in temporarily occupied territories.
Also, take a look at this photo project: “I will always wait for you, my child!”
Among the political prisoners detained in temporarily occupied Crimea, 40 individuals have cases grouped by the Crimean Human Rights Group based on charges of espionage, sabotage, and terrorism — cases the Crimean rights defenders call the so-called “Ukrainian saboteur cases.”
