21 February, 2017: Russian security services search Crimean Tatar homes in Kamenka, Simferopol, arresting 10 people. Source: Grani. Three years on since the Russian authorities took control of Crimea, Russian security forces’ actions on the peninsula increasingly recall methods that first gained infamy in the North Caucasus. Crimean Tatars and pro-Ukrainian activists disappear without a trace, people who protest the policies of the new authorities are arrested, Salafi Muslims are persecuted. Just like in the Caucasus, it’s difficult for journalists, rights defenders and lawyers to operate in Crimea — they are all subject to pressure.
Torture has come to Crimea, too. In particular, the Russian security services’ favourite method — electric shock. Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov and those arrested with him in 2014 have revealed the brutal torture they faced as part of an “anti-terrorism” investigation after the annexation of Crimea. Other Ukrainian citizens sentenced for their participation in Maidan, such as Alexander Kostenko and Andriy Kolomiets, have also been tortured.
The “Crimean terrorist” case, which saw Sentsov receive a 20-year prison sentence in 2015, is now being followed by the high-profile “Crimean saboteur” case. Since August 2016, many of those accused in this new case have stated that they were also tortured during the investigation.
