Today, 4 December, at around 5 a.m. in temporarily occupied Sudak, security forces of the Russian occupation “administration” burst into the home of Crimean Tatar researcher and journalist Lenora Diulber to conduct an illegal search.

Following the search, the journalist was taken to the Russian FSB directorate in Simferopol.

This is yet another instance of targeted pressure on active residents of Crimea who resist the Russian occupation. The actions of the occupation “administration” align with the broader logic of repression and persecution aimed at suppressing freedom of speech, halting the professional activities of journalists, and further displacing the Indigenous people of Ukraine from temporarily occupied Crimea.

The Mission condemns these illegal actions and calls on Ukrainian and international institutions, human rights organisations, and the media to continue documenting cases of persecution in Crimea. This is necessary to ensure their subsequent legal assessment and to hold the perpetrators accountable, as well as to increase pressure on Russia from international partners and expand the coverage of Russia’s crimes in temporarily occupied Crimea.