First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Emine Dzhaparova took part in an online forum "Combating Ethnic Discrimination in Crimea", organized by the German Association for East European Studies, Konrad Adenauer Foundation Office Ukraine, and the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.

The event was also attended by Refat Chubarov, Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Eskender Beriev, Chairman of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, Miste Hotop-Rike, Head of the Institute of Caucasian, Tatar and Turkestan Studies.

"Since the beginning of the temporary occupation of Crimea, Russia has been pursuing the policy of brutal suppression of any resistance and driving out opposition-minded citizens from Crimea. Also, Russia's repressive machinery is abusing anti-terrorism legislation to misrepresent systematic political persecutions of the Crimean Tatar people", Emine Dzhaparova said. She also reminded that on February 17, another wave of illegal politically motivated searches took place, which resulted in the detention of six citizens: Azamat Eyupov, Timur Yalkabov, Ibragimov Ernest, Oleg Fedorov, Lenur Seidametov, and Yashar Shikhametov.

The First Deputy Minister stressed that Russia continued to illegally hold by force more than 100 citizens of Ukraine in the occupied Crimea and on the territory of the Russian Federation on political grounds, among whom at least 82 were Crimean Tatars.

"Protecting Ukrainian citizens in the occupied Crimea and freeing all Kremlin's political prisoners is a priority for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Despite COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions, all citizens of Ukraine illegally detained on the territory of the Russian Federation or persecuted on politically motivated charges, are given special attention of the Ukrainian consular offices in Moscow, Rostov-on-Don, Novosibirsk ", Emine Dzhaparova emphasized. She also said that the Ukrainian side is constantly engaged in organizing legal assistance to political prisoners and in resolving issues of providing material assistance for them.

At the same time, Emine Dzhaparova drew attention to the obstacles created by the Russian side in the matter of ensuring the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of Ukrainian political prisoners. In part, this refers to the impossibility of the use of assistance by Ukrainian lawyers, the lack of reporting on the movement of Ukrainian citizens from Russia to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and vice versa, unmotivated rejections to consuls to hold meetings with the detainees or imprisoned citizens of Ukraine on the territory of Russia, limitation of the number of private meetings with the detainees, etc.

The First Deputy Minister also noted that human rights violations in Crimea take place in the conditions of a complete blockade of access of international human rights monitoring mechanisms to the temporarily occupied peninsula by the Russian Federation.

Emine Dzhaparova emphasized that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is constantly working with its foreign partners "to increase pressure on Russia for its human rights violations, including through international sanctions. This applies to every illegal action of the Russian Federation without any exception - searches, arrests, sentences, etc."

The First Deputy Minister also stressed that Russia's lawlessness in the issue of human rights violations on the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea is receiving the necessary attention within the framework of the "Crimean Platform", the setting up of which is actively in progress.