OHCHR urges Russia to stop systematic violations and abuse of power in Crimea
Office of the United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner (OHCHR) urges the Russian Federation and its occupation administration in Crimea to stop systematic violations and abuse of power, in particular
– uphold fair trial rights and procedural guarantees for all persons in detention,
– thoroughly investigate all claims of torture and ill-treatment,
– stop invoking the ‘anti-extremism’ legislation to criminalize freedom of speech,
– ensure necessary medical care to the Crimean Tatar leader and dissident Ilmi Umerov and refrain from practices, such as forcible placement in a psychiatric hospital, which may amount to ill-treatment,
– enable the prisoners transferred from occupied Crimea to the territory of Russia to be visited by Ukrainian consular authorities,
– provide OHCHR and other international human rights monitors with full access to the territory of Crimea.
The OHCHR report also describes the flagrant kidnapping and barbaric tortures used by the FSB against the Ukrainian prisoner Gennadii Afanasiev (beatings, suffocation, electric shock torture, and threats of rape and execution), as well as the cruel treatment of him in a tight security colony in North Russia where he served his unlawful sentence.
Text of the report: http://www.un.org.ua/images/Ukraine_OHCHR_15th_Report.pdf
