This year, at the 12th International Book Arsenal Festival, which was held from May 30 to June 2, there was a stand in support of the Letters to Free Crimea campaign, where everyone could express their support for Crimean political prisoners. 

The Crimean branch at the book festival was aimed at reminding society about illegally arrested and imprisoned citizens with a pro-Ukrainian position on the temporarily occupied Crimean Peninsula. According to the Mission, as of June 3, 2024, Russia is holding 218 people in captivity, 133 of whom are Crimean Tatars. 

The stand at the Book Arsenal was filled with books and postcards on Crimean topics, including old photographs of Crimean Tatar families, landscapes of the peninsula, and artistic ornaments. Among the books and postcards that were presented to the participants of the event were a collection of Crimean Tatar prose And a Day was Born, a work by Mykhailo Yakubovych Philosophical Thought of the Crimean Khanate, a phrasebook Crimean Tatar for Ukrainians, and others.

Also, the Letters to a Free Crimea initiative was held during the opening evening of the 21st Docudays UA 2024, on May 31, at the Zhovten cinema. The event was attended by a large number of human rights defenders, diplomats, Ukrainian and foreign directors, screenwriters and other representatives of the film industry. Many of them joined the initiative of writing letters to political prisoners to express their support.

We are pleased to summarize that over the during these events held in Kyiv, visitors wrote 430 letters to the prisoners. These are 430 expressions of gratitude for their loyalty to Ukraine despite the threat to their lives. These are 430 reminders to political prisoners that they are not forgotten: neither by the authorities nor by the society of Ukraine. These are 430 ways to keep in touch with the present and to hear about the flow of everyday life that is sure to await them. Supporting the illegally imprisoned with a conversation, a funny story, a drawing, a postcard, or even a poem is the least we can do.

The initiative is organized by the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, PEN Ukraine, ZMINA Human Rights Centre, and the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine.

We remind you that the Letters to Free Crimea campaign has been extended until the end of 2024. Details and recommendations on how to write and send a letter can be found on our website.