NV: Let us discuss in more detail those lawsuits against various people in Crimea who took part in anti-war rallies. We have various reports that there are allegedly some people in the Crimea in the Armed Forces, allegedly some prosecutors and members of the FSB, who are not happy with the course of developments, the course of the war. How would you describe the current mood in Crimea? It is rather difficult to say, to give estimates for the whole of Crimea, as in Crimea the moods of different population groups vary greatly. There are Crimean Tatars who have been politically unfaithful to Russia from the beginning and have tried to defend their freedoms peacefully. Now, of course, they are under even greater pressure and repression. There are people who simply fear that hostilities will spread to the territory of Crimea – whatever the consequences, they are simply afraid of war. In general, this is probably the most common mood. Let me remind you that Russian propaganda, especially the narrative that Crimea was occupied without a fight without losses, although this is not the case, has used it very widely in an attempt to spread its influence and somehow regain the sympathy of the people. of the Crimea. Read also: Ukraine’s General Staff says hospitals in Crimea have stopped accepting civilians to make beds for wounded soldiers As for the departure of security officers, FSB officers and law enforcement officers to the Russian territories, the departure from Crimea, I would not say it is a large-scale or mass process. I am afraid that this is our wish and not the reality. Although some part of the population really left – we can not say that no one was afraid. Many of those who probably understand that they are there (those who came from Russia), violating Ukrainian law. And if the situation develops in such a way that Crimea is finally returned, they will generally have to somehow solve the problems with the property they bought, with education, in general, trying to either legitimize or leave. And somewhere in the beginning of the full scale invasion really went. we have noticed this. The story goes on NV: I also saw on your website, it was at the beginning of the war, that there was a hospital in Krasnoperekopsk that was full of wounded. We have reports that there are many hospitals in Crimea with wounded Russian soldiers. Do you know anything about this? In general, as you know, and now it is no secret that for the Russian troops the southern axis and the attack from the Crimea was perhaps the most successful. However, a huge number of victims, deaths and injuries came to the Crimea. We are just beginning to learn more or less, but there is a huge mass of dead Russian soldiers from the 810th, for example, the Russian Marine Brigade, based in Sevastopol. They also took part (in the battles in Ukraine), we had information, we received information from there, completely verified, it is certain that more than 70 people refused to take part in hostilities. This was the beginning of a full-scale invasion, that is, before the wave of casualties, which then began to leave Ukraine. I think the situation now is perhaps even more critical for the military, which does not want to take part in hostilities against Ukraine. Read also: Russia deploys more troops than Crimea in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya region In general, as you know, and now it is no secret that for the Russian troops the southern axis and the attack from the Crimea was perhaps the most successful. However, a huge number of victims, deaths and injuries came to the Crimea. We are just beginning to learn more or less, but there is a huge mass of dead Russian soldiers from the 810th, for example, the Russian Marine Brigade, based in Sevastopol. They also took part (in the battles in Ukraine), we had information, we received information from there, completely verified, it is certain that more than 70 people refused to take part in hostilities. This was the beginning of a full-scale invasion, that is, before the wave of casualties, which then began to leave Ukraine. I think the situation now is perhaps even more critical for the military, which does not want to take part in hostilities against Ukraine. NV: Then let’s talk about the cases we have in Crimea. I read on your website that the latest case is that 25-year-old Aziz Fayzulayev was arrested on suspicion of setting fire to the Pushkine village administration building in the Soviet region. In the evening of the same day, a video appeared where he confessed that he had done it as a sign of protest in the war. What happens to Aziz and how common are such cases? I would not go so far as to say that this is a kind of guerrilla, organized or at least large-scale, no. But the number of people and the presence of people who are ready to oppose the war physically, not just to write some posts on Facebook … Yesterday, for example, we did not even manage to write it, one of the activists in Simferopol was fined 30,000 rubles ($ 520) just because she wrote “No to War” on her VKontakte page in April, and that was enough. There are many of them, and this is really such a large-scale anti-war movement, but of peaceful resistance. But there are people — constantly appearing young — who are ready to oppose the war, to take some more visible, natural steps. There is an artist in Yevpatoria who tried to set fire to the administration building, recorded anti-war videos, did things in general, anti-war demonstrations. And here in Pushkine, and a few other people who were fined for coming out to protest, we also covered that. Maybe, you see, there is also an absurd story about a pensioner in Crimea, who was so shocked by the events in Bucha, so shocked by the crimes, her classmates and friends died there … She went to the grave of one of the dead Russian marines in the cemetery near Sudak and shed blood on it as a way of protesting. He then claimed, of course, that he overreacted, but in general it was a kind of anti-war show. He has been in prison for two months and is likely to be tried for desecrating Valeriy Goldenberg’s grave. There are many such people who believe that it is necessary to do something to declare that they are against the war, to show that they are not indifferent. NB: And what are they threatened with? And are they able to get some kind of legal help? Read also: Russia is forcing companies in Berdyansk to import goods from Crimea In fact, they face persecution based on any article of the Penal Code that the FSB or the police want to apply to them. In the case of Goldenberg, it was the desecration of the tomb for political reasons, for reasons of political hatred. She was tried after being given several years in a criminal colony, but the defense will try to appeal against the verdict. My lawyers and I said we saw potential there. For everyone else – for example, those who tried to set things on fire or were forced to admit that they tried to set them on fire – we do not know yet. For example, we do not know whether in Pushkin the detainee was actually involved in the arson or not. We only saw one video that was recorded without lawyers, obviously under pressure, of a person sitting, nervous, testifying while reading from a piece of paper about how he tried to set fire to the administration. They will be tried, some have already been accused of a terrorist attack and (their acts) are considered a terrorist attack. Others, for example, are on trial for discrediting the Russian army, many are on trial in administrative courts, we only know those who have been arrested and have made administrative arrests in detention centers. Some were fined for the same thing. That is, a completely different set of articles that they selected and implemented. But the article is administrative and criminal for the discrediting of the Russian army, but it is probably the most frequently used. It is theoretically possible to defend against it, everyone is defending themselves, and Crimea has a wonderful legal community with experience in political disputes. But we understand that the judicial system in Crimea is just a continuation of the repressive mechanism. This is not a court that finds guilt, the degree of guilt, acquits or clarifies some other circumstances. No, it is the legitimation of pressure, the legitimation of repression. Only one sentence will be a formal reason to send a person to jail. NV: We also saw that on May 26, the Crimean lawyer Edem Semedlyaev was arrested. He was arrested by officers of the Russian Interior Ministry’s Center for Combating Extremism in the center of Simferopol. This happened because he posted something on social media, allegedly reposted something. Is it known what happened to Eden Semedlyaev? You just said that they issue fines for posting on social networks. How is this case different? Read also: Russia sends troops from Crimea to fight Ukraine, spokesman for Ukrainian president says This is a completely horrible story, when the lawyer Edem Semedlyaev was arrested, tried for an administrative article, also for discrediting the armed forces. For a post he did not write, comment, post or repost – just one person tagged him in that post. He is one of the Russian dissidents who left Russia many years ago and founded a dissident movement abroad, and he writes very hard things. This post at least said that oppressed nationalities in Russia should create guerrilla units and overthrow the Putin regime. There he mentioned the Crimean lawyer as one of his acquaintances and tagged a total of 100 people and this post appeared on the lawyer’s page. That was enough for Semedlyaev, who specializes in …
