The occupiers have again illegally arrested Ukrainian citizen Leniya Umerova – this time for 2 months on charges of alleged “espionage”. The girl did not even have time to finish her previous administrative detention, when she was abducted by the FSB and taken to Moscow, to the Lefortovo detention center.

The preliminary administrative arrest was just a delay to falsify the case against the girl, who wanted to visit her father with cancer. Three months in the center for temporary detention of foreign citizens, continuous administrative arrests since March 2023 in Vladikavkaz only because Leniya was born in Crimea and has valid Ukrainian documents.

The Mission condemns the “decision” of the court of the occupying country and demands the immediate release of Ukrainian citizen, representative of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people, Leniye Umerova. We draw the attention of law enforcement agencies to another violation of the fundamental human rights of a Ukrainian citizen and call on international partners to respond and continue political and diplomatic pressure on Russia.

The occupiers have no place on the Ukrainian peninsula – only the de-occupation of Crimea will make such abuse of our citizens impossible!