"You live in Moscow, there is no peace for you": How Crimea is punished for talking on the streets

The Russian authorities of Crimea have repeatedly stated that the residents of Crimea unanimously support the Russian invasion of Ukraine and "remain united in their support for the President of Russia, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and all the goals of the Northern Military District" (they call Russia's invasion of Ukraine a "special military operation" in Russia, starting from February 24, 2022 - KR). But reality tells a different story.

Human rights activists have recorded hundreds of cases of persecution of people in Crimea for anti-war protests. In the spring and the first month of summer, two people were tried because of street stories about the war, in the Crimean city of Yevpatoria.

 

"The old creatures made war and the young die"

 

Russian security forces detained in Yevpatoria a Russian woman, Neli Karamyan, who, according to the pro-war public, called the local population occupiers and spoke against Russia's war in Ukraine.

 

The Crimean Telegram channel SMERSH published a fragment of a video recorded by an unknown person at a public transport station. Only Karamjanov's legs and clothes are visible in it, and female voices are heard in the background.

One of them calls on Russians to "live in Moscow, because for them there is no peace anywhere". The same voice says that "the old creatures made a war, and the young are dying because of them", and he replies to the objections that "Pashinyan (Prime Minister of Armenia - KR) will quickly show everyone who they are". Another female voice claims that her son is participating in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In response, it is heard that he is "the same slave as you".  

 

"Crimean SMERSH" has the following interpretation of what happened: "At the Universam station in Yevpatoria, an aggressive woman called Russians occupiers, Muscovites and shouted: "He was born in Moscow, lives in Moscow with his Buryats. Russia is big, you were born there, don't... come here. We still have to tolerate these occupiers here. They made the war." The women tried to reason with her, one said she had a son in the Northern Military District. In response, she declared that her son was "a slave like you". Then she left in a minibus."

Neli Karamjan has not publicly stated her position on this case. Judging by social networks, she is the mother of several children and lives in Moscow. Krim.Realii could not immediately contact her. We are ready to give the woman and her representatives a chance to talk about what happened.

After the arrest, a video appeared on the channel in which Karamjan apologized "to Russian citizens and military personnel for emotional statements and emotional actions."

The Russian police made a report on her procedure according to Art. 20.3.3 of the Law on Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. The court in Yevpatoria under Russian control, after examining the case, found her guilty and imposed an administrative penalty.

 

Dissatisfaction with the president

 

A similar story happened in Yevpatoria in May. Local resident and businessman Aleksandar Kabanov appeared before the court. According to the protocol of the security forces, the man, while in a local cafe, "expressed his dissatisfaction with the policy of the Russian president, spoke negatively about the execution of a military military operation on the territory of Ukraine, which was heard by an unspecified circle of people." Based on this, the security forces accused the Yevpatorian of "discrediting the Russian armed forces".

Discrediting refers to deliberate actions aimed at undermining authority, image and trust, belittling their dignity and authority, as stated in the decision of the court in Yevpatoria under Russian control. The court decision showed that Kabanov admitted his guilt. He explained that on that day he celebrated his birthday with friends, so he was emotionally excited and drank alcohol, after which he made negative statements about the Russian war against Ukraine and the policy of the Russian president.

This resident of Crimea also stated that he understood the illegality of his actions and repented of them. Kabanov asked that he not be punished strictly, because he is the only breadwinner in the family and has a small child to support, the document states. Judge Natalija Kiosa found him guilty under Art. 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and fined him 30,000 rubles.

 

"A tool for legalizing repression"

A similar persecution of people for talking in public places appeared with the change of local authorities in Yevpatoria. In May, the former adviser to the Russian head of Crimea, Alexander Yuryev, took over the post of head of the Russian city administration.

At the beginning of June, the Russian administration of Yevpatoria joined the "Crimean SMERSH" movement, and its head is being provided with "methodological assistance in the fight against people who are waiting" (as they call people in Russia who do not support the Russian war and want the victory of Ukraine - KR), the military reported blogger, author of the Telegram channel of the same name, Aleksandar Talipov.

Yuriev confirmed that Talipov was "his friend" and he came to Yevpatoria and together they inspected the local embankment. The official even released photos of them together.

But the official in his message does not mention agreements on cooperation in the sphere of persecution of Crimeans because of their anti-war or pro-Ukrainian position.

Since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on the Crimean Peninsula, the statistics of persecution of people under the "anti-war" Article 20.3.3 of the Law on Administrative Offenses of Russia has been on the rise, reports the Crimean Process project. According to him, Crimean courts under the control of Moscow during that time examined more than 700 administrative cases under this article and found people guilty in 98 percent of cases.

Most of the persecutions (60 podzo), according to the researchers, concern people who post pro-Ukrainian messages on their social media pages. In second place (28 percent) are protocols on punishment for verbal expression of opinion.

"Consideration of the protocol on the "discrediting of the Russian army" in the courts of Crimea is connected with a systematic violation of the basic standards of access to fair justice - the principle of publicity, adversarial rights of parties, the right to defense and impartiality, and judicial review. Most cases of judicial interrogation have a number of signs of politically motivated persecution, due to the expression of a point of view", say experts of the Crimean process.

 

According to the authors of the study, Article 20.3.3 of the Law on Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, in the third year of Russia's war against Ukraine, is increasingly being used exclusively as one of the tools to legalize repression, with the aim of suppressing anti-war and pro-Ukrainian sentiments in Crimea.