On February 5, at 4:00 a.m., in occupied Crimea, the occupying security structures carried out unlawful searches in the homes of Crimean Tatars in the villages of Istochnе, Novokrymskе, and Lobanove in the Dzhankoi district, as well as in the town of Yarke Pole in the Feodosiia district. As a result of these raids, five individuals were detained: Emir Kurtnеzirov, Abibulla Smedliaiev, Rustem Mustafaiev, Myrzaali Tazhybaiev, and Bakhtiiar Ablaiev. The Crimean Solidarity reported this.

During a search of the home of Crimean Tatar Emir Kurtnеzirov in the village of Lobanove, occupation security forces allegedly “discovered” banned literature. The detainee’s wife, Safiie Yakubova, told Crimean Solidarity that these materials could have been planted by the security forces.

Thirty-three-year-old Abibulla Smedliaiev, a resident of Novokrymske, is the father of four children. During the search, security forces detained him without providing any official grounds for his arrest and confiscated the family’s personal belongings.

At 9 a.m., reports emerged of another illegal search and the detention of Bakhtiiar Ablaiev, a resident of Kovylnе, Dzhankoi district. While fewer details are available regarding the search of his home, it is known that he was also transported to Simferopol.

All five unlawfully detained individuals are currently being held in a pre-trial detention center in Simferopol. Lawyers are attempting to gain access to their clients. The detainees are being charged under Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code, “Organization of the activities of a terrorist organization and participation in such activities.”

The occupation “court” in Simferopol has issued an illegal ruling to keep Emir Kurtnеzirov, Rustem Mustafaiev, and Abibulla Smedliaiev in detention until April 4, 2025.

As of today, the Russian occupation administration is unlawfully holding 218 people, 132 of whom are representatives of the Crimean Tatar people, under fabricated charges such as terrorism, extremism, and treason. Article 205.5, under which the latest detainees are being charged, is one of the main legal tools used for politically motivated persecution in occupied Crimea. Notably, some of those detained today are relatives of political prisoners, illustrating how the Russian occupation administration systematically represses entire families.

The occupying forces continue their systematic persecution of Ukrainian citizens, using illegal detentions and fabricated criminal and administrative charges as a tool of repression. These actions constitute a gross violation of fundamental human rights and international humanitarian law.

We will continue to defend the rights of our citizens and seek justice through all available international platforms. Only the de-occupation of the Crimean Peninsula can ensure the protection of its residents from political, religious, and ethnic persecution.

We call on the entire international community to respond to these latest human rights violations in temporarily occupied Crimea and to unite efforts to put an end to Russia’s politically motivated persecution of Ukrainian citizens as soon as possible.