Today, Ukraine marks the Day of the Ukrainian Political Prisoner. The day was established in 1975 at the initiative of Viacheslav Chornovil, a Ukrainian political figure and dissident who called for resistance to the repression and brutality of the Soviet regime.

The date of 12 January was chosen deliberately, as it was between 12 and 14 January 1972 that the Soviet authorities carried out the so-called second wave of the crackdown on the Ukrainian intelligentsia, which effectively halted the development of the Sixtiers movement. At that time, Ivan Svitlychnyi, Vasyl Stus, Viacheslav Chornovil, and others were arrested in Lviv and Kyiv.

Overall, in 1972–1974, the Soviet authorities conducted hundreds of searches and arrested nearly 200 people on charges of “anti-Soviet propaganda” and on religious grounds. Most of those imprisoned were sentenced to seven years in high-security labor camps followed by five years of internal exile. They were sent to serve their sentences in Mordovia and the Perm region of Russia, as well as in Siberia and Kazakhstan. Some were also confined to psychiatric hospitals.

Today, Russia continues the practices of the Soviet regime, including carrying out illegal searches and detentions in Crimea. As of early January 2026, the occupying authorities have unlawfully imprisoned 224 people, 133 of whom are Crimean Tatars.

For example, one of the oldest political prisoners, Halyna Dovhopola, was sentenced by Russia to 12 years in a general-regime penal colony on charges of alleged “treason”. She was accused of cooperating with Ukrainian intelligence. She is now 70 years old and has spent the past six years behind bars.

Another resident of the Crimean Peninsula, Tofik Abdulgaziev, was also sentenced to 12 years on charges of alleged “terrorism”, specifically for involvement in the organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir. While in detention, he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor with metastases, and due to inadequate detention conditions, he has nearly lost his eyesight. In addition, he has suffered from tuberculosis of the lungs and brain.

Also held in Russian captivity is Bohdan Ziza, an artist and activist from Crimea, who was sentenced to 15 years in a high-security penal colony for an anti-war protest. According to his sister, he has been subjected to torture in detention and is suffering from serious health problems.

These are just three stories of residents of the Crimean Peninsula who have ended up behind bars as a result of unlawful persecution by Russia’s FSB. Meanwhile, the daily terror against local residents — especially Crimean Tatars — carried out by the occupying authorities on the peninsula continues unabated.