International Criminal Court should working on crimes committed by Russians since 2014

Olga Skrypnyk, the Chair of the Board of the Crimean Human Rights Group, announced this during a press conference at Ukrinform.

“It is crucial that the International Criminal Court, despite the full-scale invasion, investigates the crimes committed by Russia since 2014. Crimea should also be a part of these investigations. Russia’s crimes have already been legally assessed: they are war crimes, crimes against humanity, and a deliberate policy against the Crimean Tatar people,” stated Skrypnyk.

She emphasized that last year a submission was made to the ICC regarding the administrative and criminal persecution of Crimean Tatars and the destruction of their cultural heritage.

“It was submitted as a crime against humanity within the overall policy of Russification and the destruction of the Crimean Tatar identity. The attempts to eradicate the Crimean Tatar people continue,” she added.

The human rights activist also drew attention to the crime committed by Russians against political prisoners after the issuance of illegal verdicts – deportation.

“This is prohibited by international criminal law. Crimean political prisoners are being deported to high-security colonies in remote areas of Russia. Unfortunately, these colonies have seen tragic cases of death. These are deliberate killings. Keeping our people on Russian territory poses a great threat because their treatment has worsened after the full-scale invasion. They can become victims of criminal conflicts since we understand that there are many Russians there who commit terrible crimes and harbor hatred towards Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars. This can lead to fights, torture against our people, and more. They have no protection there. Additionally, they deliberately deny them medical assistance, which is yet another conscious crime of the Russian Federation,” Skrypnik emphasized.

As reported earlier, the President of Ukraine’s Representative in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Tamila Tasheva, all political prisoners will be released without reviewing their cases after the de-occupation of the peninsula.