Statement on the COVID-19 in closed prisons in the occupied Crimea and Donbas which is under Russia’s effective control. An immediate response from international organizations is required.

Statement on the COVID-19 in closed prisons in the occupied Crimea and Donbas which is under Russia’s effective control. An immediate response from international organizations is required.
We, the Ukrainian human rights and civil society organizations, have been protecting Ukrainian citizens illegally detained in Russia and the occupied Ukrainian territories of Crimea and Donbas for the past six years.
On the occasion of the PACE, 29 members from different national delegations (e.g. France, Belgium, UK, Poland, Italy etc.) and political groups signed a written declaration “Sanctions must be maintained and “Magnitsky laws” applied in response to human rights violations in the RF occupied Crimea”
Lev Ponomaryov and Emil Kurbedinov were subjected to shocking cases of administrative arrest for posting on social networks. In this way, the authorities continue to apply the policy of intimidation and punishment of individuals who dare criticise the actions of the regime.
Statement of the Human Rights Agenda platform concerning the persecution of lawyers who work with politically motivated cases in occupied Crimea.
Ukrainian journalist Mykola Semena was de facto refused permission to leave the occupied Crimea in order to receive medical treatment at the neurosurgery and cardiology clinics.
I am writing this to ring the alarm about Oleg Sentsov, Ukrainian political prisoner who is now in deadly danger in a Russian prison, on a hunger strike. If no urgent measures are taken, he will die in his attempt to liberate his fellows in misery – other Ukrainian political prisoners.
The annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation with the use of its own armed forces in March 2014 caused numerous violations of rights and freedoms, including freedom of thought and expression, conscience and religion.
We seek your urgent support to save the life of victim of the latest political persecution of Crimean Tatars in occupied Crimea. He is 57-years old Bekir Degermendzhi who was detained on 23 of November this year on a fabricated criminal charge.
Since the beginning of the Russian–Ukrainian conflict, at least 65 Ukrainian citizens have faced politically motivated criminal proceedings in Russia, as well as in the occupied Crimea.
I confirm that due to the onset of the Russian occupation of the Crimea in March 2014, my brother left Sevastopol for Poland together with his closest family, including his current wife. He is now staying in the US. His return to the Crimea is not possible at the moment.
On 16 March, 2017, the European Parliament adopted a resolution regarding Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia and the situation in occupied Crimea. The resolution calls on the Russian government to immediately and unconditionally release all Ukrainian political prisoners.
On Thursday 16 March, 2017, during the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, a debate on Ukrainian political prisoners and situation in Crimea was held. After the discussion, an urgent resolution was adopted
On Tuesday, 28 February, 2017, Members of the European Parliament hosted the Open Dialog Foundation for a debate event on the “Ukrainian Political Prisoners in Russia and occupied Crimea”, at the European Parliament – Brussels.
Russian military aggression against Ukraine is accompanied by a large-scale oppression of Ukrainian citizens. More than 60 people have been subjected to criminal prosecution for political reasons. Of these, 45 persons are being held in detention.
Searches and arrests, enforced disappearances and beatings, censorship and bans on protests have become an everyday reality in Crimea. Currently, at least 39 people are being held in detention on trumped-up charges.
On behalf of the Members of the EP Ms Julie Ward and Mrs Marju Lauristin, the Open Dialog Foundation and the Mission of Ukraine to the EU, we would like to kindly invite you to an event dedicated to a problem of Ukrainian political prisoners in the RF and the illegally occupied Crimea.
Today, on 10 December, is an international Human Rights Day. Millions of letters for those who were deprived of basic human rights will be written around the world.
On the 21st October, “Tygodnik Powszechny” weekly featured an article on the community of Crimean Tartars who in 2014 were forced to leave the Russian occupied peninsula and settled in Drohobych. There, they were looked after by Artur Deska – adviser to the Management Board of the Open Dialog Founda
On Wednesday, 19 October 2016, the Open Dialog Foundation in cooperation with the biggest political groups in the European Parliament organized a debate event on “The Minsk Agreements, EU-Russia relations and the role of sanctions”, in Brussels.
On Wednesday, 19 October, 2016, the Open Dialog Foundation in cooperation with the biggest political groups in the European Parliament organized a debate event on “The Minsk Agreements, EU-Russia relations and the role of sanctions”, in Brussels.
Join us on 19 October in the European Parliament, room PHS 5B001, for an event co-organised by Petras Auštrevičius, Michał Boni, Ana Gomes, Rebecca Harms, Charles Tannock and Fundacja Otwarty Dialog dedicated to the Minsk Agreements and the role of sanctions in the EU-Russia relations.
Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, at least 43 Ukrainian citizens have been illegally prosecuted for political reasons on the part of the Russian law enforcement agencies. Of them 6 have been released, 30 are still held in detention facilities or prisons.
On 10-14 October 2016, during the 4th plenary session of the PACE, a world-wide #StopPutinsWarInUkraine action will take place and photos of political prisoners and histories of their persecution will be published on social media within the #LetMyPeopleGo campaign.
On Friday 23 September, 2016, the Open Dialog Foundation and the Center for Civil Liberties organized an OSCE ODIHR Human Dimension Implementation Meeting side-event on Ukrainian political prisoners in the Russian Federation and the illegally occupied Crimea.
On Friday 23 September, 2016, the Open Dialog Foundation and the Center for Civil Liberties organized an OSCE ODIHR Human Dimension Implementation Meeting side-event on Ukrainian political prisoners in the Russian Federation and the illegally occupied Crimea.
The Open Dialog Foundation and the Center for Civil Liberties would like to invite to the OSCE ODIHR Human Dimension Implementation Meeting 2016 side-events (Sofitel Victoria Warsaw, Królewska St. 11, 00-065 Warsaw, Poland).
In a recent interview conducted by Domenico Letizia for Cronache di Napoli, an Italian newspaper, Anna Koj, head of the Open Dialog’s EU Office, spoke about the Foundation’s work in promoting democracy and the rule of law in the post-Soviet states.
After more than two years, the Ukrainian pilot, sentenced in Russia to 22 years in prison, returned to her homeland. Last Wednesday, she was exchanged for two soldiers of GRU (the Russian military intelligence body), convicted in Ukraine.
On Tuesday, 5 April 2016, the Open Dialog Foundation, the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Parliament and the Centre for Civil Liberties organised a conference dedicated to the topic of the global overview of the human rights violations during the Russian-Ukrainian war.
On Tuesday, 5 April 2016, the Open Dialog Foundation, the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Parliament and the Centre for Civil Liberties organised a conference dedicated to the topic of the global overview of the human rights violations during the Russian-Ukrainian war.
On Thursday, 25 February 2016, the Open Dialog Foundation and the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty organised a working lunch dedicated to the topic of persecution of independent media and political opposition in Central Asia.
On Monday, 25 January 2016, during the year-opening session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg, representatives of the Ukrainian and Russian civil society gathered at an event organized by the Open Dialogue Foundation and the Kyiv Dialogue.
Within the framework of the human rights campaign ‘LetMyPeopleGo’,ODF and the Civic Initiative ‘Euromaidan SOS’, present a report about 27 Ukrainians and 1 citizen of a European country who have faced unlawful and politically motivated criminal prosecution in Russia and the occupied Crimea.
On Wednesday, 20 January, 2016, at 2:00 p.m., the Ukrainian Crisis Media Centre will hold a presentation of recommendations and the joint report entitled ‘28 hostages of the Kremlin’, produced by the initiative ‘Euromaidan SOS’, the Centre for Civil Liberties and the Open Dialog Foundation.
In an interview for D. Letizia from an Italian newspaper Il Garantista, A. Koj spoke about the active role of the ODF in promoting greater respect for human rights. She also mentioned the need for a stronger response of the West, the role of Putin’s propaganda and its influence on Italian media.
Isolation of the Crimean Peninsula, difficulties in providing people with basic goods, the situation of the marginalised Crimean Tatars and Moscow’s financial difficulties were discussed for the pdf.edu.pl portal by Tomasz Czuwara.
Russia’s Prosecutor’s Office continues to assert that along with the occupied territories, the country appropriated Ukrainian citizens.
Investigators refused to open a criminal case regarding the torture of the Ukrainian filmmaker and continue to contrive charges.
The Open Dialog Foundation received a reply to the inquiry regarding the case of Sentsov, Kolchenko and Afanasiyev from the Office of the General Prosecutor of the Russian Federation.
Member of the European Parliament, Agnieszka Kozłowska-Rajewicz, filed a written inquiry with the European Commission regarding the Ukrainian activists, abducted from the territory of Crimea: Oleg Sentsov, Gennadiy Afanasyev, Aleksey Chirniy and Alexander Kolchenko.
Vincent Degert, representing the European External Action Service answered questions from the Open Dialog Foundation concerning, amongst others, the Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov, persecuted by Russia.
TVP 2 channel aired a report on refugees forced to leave their homes after the annexation of the Crimea by Russia. Amongst them, there are many Crimean Tatars who found refuge in places such as Drohobych.
A fabricated criminal case of alleged preparation of terrorist acts on the territory of the Crimean peninsula, with four Crimean civil activists charged (including a well-known director Oleg Sentsov), is gathering pace.
On radio TOK FM about the possible military intervention and the situation in Donetsk – an interview with Tomasz Czuwara, spokesman for the Open Dialog Foundation, and Anna Maria Dyner of the Polish Institute of International Affairs
On 15 July 2014, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Italian Parliament will hold a hearing on the situation in Ukraine. The Open Dialog Foundation was invited to participate in the meeting, along with two other guests to provide the expertise and for an informal exchange of views with the Italian.
Russian lawyer Mark Feygin became famous for his participation in the high-profile case of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot, and no less scandalous was the ending of their partnership.
Oleg Sentsov, Ukrainian film director, screenwriter, producer and pro-Ukrainian activist and three of his colleagues were unlawfully kidnapped from the occupied territory of Crimea by the Russian FSB agents and transferred to Moscow on 23 May 2014.
Chairman of the Board of the Open Dialog Foundation, Bartosz Kramek, talked to TOK FM about the developments in Ukraine.
Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation in the Crimea detained and arrested four citizens of Ukraine on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks in the occupied peninsula. In order to obtain confessions, they used torture against the detainees.
The Yagichevs family – Rafat and his mother Zemfira – come from the Crimea. They were forced to leave the peninsula due to the Russian occupation, and now they reside in Kiev.
Thirteen Tatar families who were resettled from the Autonomous Republic of Crimea are now under the care of “CARITAS SDD UGKC“ in Drohobytsch, thanks to a project financed by the Open Dialogue Foundation.
Thirteen Tatar families who were resettled from the Autonomous Republic of Crimea are now under the care of “CARITAS SDD UGKC“ in Drohobytsch, thanks to a project financed by the Open Dialogue Foundation.
Yuri Borodin was born on December 8, 1993 in Bakchysarai in Crimea. He is a trained technician-mechanic and driver. His passions include sea and mountain rescue. He, along with his mother and brother, moved to Kiev several months prior to the events of Maidan.
A family from the Crimea approached the Open Dialog Foundation asking for help. At the time of the referendum, which was held in March 2014, they detected electoral fraud and propaganda actions on the Internet, opposing the misinformation disseminated by the pro-Russian media.
Anna, the wife of Ukrainian army soldier Alexander Boyko, has approached the Open Dialog Foundation for help.
On 23 May, 2014, Kiev will host the 1st All-Ukrainian Congress of Forcibly Displaced Persons from the Crimea.
The Government of Ukraine is actively discussing the topic of FDPs who were forced to leave the occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (ARC), declaring a readiness to provide them with legal and material assistance.
Krzysztof Bukowski was a guest at tvp.info and talked during the programme, amongst other things, about Poland’s engagement and role in relation to the situation in Ukraine.
On 1 April, 2014, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is to vote on the adoption of the Law ‘On the rights and freedoms of citizens in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine’.
Flags of the Russian Federation are hoisted in all military facilities in the Crimea. Ukrainian servicemen are leaving the territory of the peninsula. Negotiations are also being carried out regarding an unimpeded withdrawal of logistics (including weapons and ships).
Dziennikpolski24.pl informs of the support shown by the Open Dialog Foundation to five families from Crimea.
Representatives of the Open Dialog Foundation have analysed the locations which are ready to receive Tatar families, organised by the local partners of the foundation.
Gazeta Wyborcza has published an article about the mission in support of refugees from Crimea, organised by the ODF.
Several Ukrainian activists and journalists have been kidnapped in the Crimea by so-called ‘vigilantes’ and representatives of the ‘Crimean Self-defence Forces’. Their whereabouts remain unknown.
Bartosz Kramek, Chair of the Foundation’s Council, commented, on Polsat News, on the developments in Ukraine prior to the upcoming referendum on the Crimea status.
Krzysiek Bukowski of the Open Dialog Foundation for TVN24 Biznes i Świat on the situation in the Crimea before the referendum which is to decide about its status:
The Russian Federation has blatantly violated the law and international agreements by committing an unprovoked aggression on the territory of Ukraine. The violation of the territorial integrity of the Ukrainian state must cause a strong response from the European Union and the Western world.
On 1 March, 2014, Russia officially announced the dispatch of troops to Ukraine. “The ‘reason’ for this was disingenuous information about ‘Russian citizens killed in the Crimea’. Russian security forces are carrying out a set of planned actions aimed at military provocations.
Tomasz Piechal, an observer under the Foundation’s mission in Ukraine, told TVN24 about the situation in Simferopol.
On 27 February, 2014, several-dozen armed men seized the building of the Supreme Council and the Cabinet of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, in Simferopol (Ukraine).