Denisova: 268 people illegally imprisoned in occupied Donbas

Denisova: 268 people illegally imprisoned in occupied Donbas

Ukrinform
As many as 268 people are illegally imprisoned in the temporarily occupied part of Donbas, while another 114 Ukrainian citizens are illegally held in places of detention in the territory of the Russian Federation and in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

“I’ve stressed that the persecution of Ukrainian citizens with pro-Ukrainian views continues in the temporarily occupied territories. To date, 268 Ukrainian citizens are imprisoned illegally in the temporarily occupied part of Donbas, and 114 Ukrainian citizens are held illegally in the places of detention in the Russian Federation and in the temporarily occupied Crimea. Most of them, namely 78 persons, are Crimean Tatars,” Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova said during a meeting with newly appointed OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Ukrinform reports with reference to the Commissioner’s Facebook page.

Denisova also informed that the state status of the Ukrainian language had been abolished in the occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the documents drawn up in Ukrainian would be valid until March 1, 2023.

"The requirement of official translation will make it difficult for residents of the occupied territories to receive social and other services. In fact, the actions of the occupation administrations lead to the absence of the Ukrainian language in those territories," Denisova said.

According to her, this also applies to the temporarily occupied Crimea. In particular, education in the Ukrainian language has dropped 50-fold during the years of occupation. To date, 249 pupils study in the Ukrainian language and only 3% (6,400 students) out of the total number of pupils in Crimea study in the Crimean Tatar language.

In Ukraine, the Ombudsperson noted, the national minorities study in the relevant languages at the stage of obtaining preschool and primary education, while the indigenous peoples of Ukraine - at the stage of obtaining preschool and general secondary education.

The parties paid special attention to the issues of observance of the rights and freedoms of the representatives of the Roma national minority.

Denisova invited the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities to take part in the Forum of Ombudspersons at the end of May where her colleagues will share their positive experience in addressing the issues of ensuring the rights of national minorities.

For his part, Kairat Abdrakhmanov expressed readiness to take part in this event and to cooperate further.

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