The Council of the European Union has announced fresh sanctions on six individuals, alleging their role in human rights violations in Crimea, primarily in the case pertaining to journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko. Identified for the sanctions are persons engaged in perpetrating what the EU views as legal encroachments against Yesypenko, a journalist known for his strong criticisms against the Russian occupation of Crimea. More details on these sanctions were released on Friday.
In 2021, Yesypenko was targeted by Russian security forces; he was arrested when a hand grenade was allegedly discovered in his car. The journalist has refuted these charges, claiming that the grenade was planted. He also contended that he was subjected to electric shock torture by members of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) during his detainment. The Simferopol District Court, established by Russian authorities post their 2014 annexation of Crimea, later sentenced Yesypenko to a 6-year imprisonment term. The details of Yesypenko’s case can be found here.
The EU imposed sanctions on FSB agent Vitaliy Vlasov for his investigation into Yesypenko, as well as an examination of four Jehovah’s Witnesses in the year 2021. Denis Korovin, another FSB agent, faces sanctions for his alleged involvement in Yesypenko’s torture. Individuals involved in legal proceedings against the journalist, including Elena Podolnaya and Anastasia Supryaga (the prosecuting attorneys), Dliaver Berberov (the judge who sentenced Yesypenko), and Viktor Krapko (the Crimean Supreme Court Justice who purportedly sanctioned abusive searches against the journalist and others), also find themselves under the EU’s sanctions. These individuals, as per EU’s allegations, played a part in “systematic persecution campaigns” against Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Crimean Tatar community, and other religious minorities. Further information on this investigation can be located here.
The Official Journal of the European Union states that the EU does not recognize Crimea’s annexation by Russia and expresses their “concern about the continuing deterioration of the human rights situation in the Crimean peninsula”. Meanwhile, the Russian Federation continues to portray the invasion of the Crimean peninsula as a “re-integration”. For more on this, follow this link.
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