In Crimea, on September 14, the occupiers illegally arrested blind activist Oleksandr Sizikov and took him to an unknown destination. During the detention, Russian security forces threatened to use force against him and bring him to justice for “failure to comply with the lawful demands of police officers.”
This was reported by the press service of the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
“I have just received a call from Oleksandr Sizikov and his mother. They informed me that the occupation law enforcement officers had arrived to execute the sentence of the “court”. At his mother's request to show them the 'court' ruling with a seal, they said that they did not have it,” the activist's lawyer said.
On July 7, 2020, regular mass searches of the Crimean Tatar population of Crimea took place in the so-called “case of Crimean Muslims”, and Oleksandr Sizikov, a person with Group 1 disability, was detained. Since then, he has been under house arrest.
On May 17, 2023, Sizikov was illegally sentenced to 17 years in a penal colony, of which he must spend the first 4 years in prison. While the appeal was pending, he continued to be held under house arrest until September 13, 2024, when the so-called “court of appeal” in Vlasikha, Russia, upheld the sentence, ignoring the Crimean Tatar's illness.
“The occupying state continues to systematically persecute pro-Ukrainian citizens, illegally arresting and imprisoning even those with serious illnesses or disabilities, despite the fact that such actions are contrary to international law. Russia not only ignores the health status of these political prisoners but also fails to provide adequate medical care, which leads to severe consequences for their health, often worsening their illnesses and leaving them with no chance of recovery.
We call on the international community to respond decisively to the illegal actions of the occupying state and condemn the systematic persecution and harassment of Ukrainian citizens, indigenous people in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea!” the press service of the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea said.
It should be noted that Oleksandr Sizikov, who was taken by the security forces in an unknown direction, cannot be found by the defense lawyers in any of the pre-trial detention centers in Simferopol.
The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, stated that “the actions of Russian security forces against a person with a disability violate fundamental human rights, in particular, the right to a fair trial and defense”.