On August 27, the opening of the exhibition Crimea Through the Eyes of Citizen Journalists: 10 Years in Captivity, which is organized by the ZMINA Human Rights Center in different cities of Ukraine. Deputy Permanent Representative Olha Kuryshko joined the event.

A Crimean Tatar tamga appeared on Dnipro Square, made up of 48 photographs taken by journalists and activists to document the crimes of the Russian occupiers since the beginning of the occupation of Crimea.

During the event, Olha Kuryshko emphasized that it is very important for the Mission as a state institution to support the initiatives of human rights organizations.

“Currently, we know about 219 political prisoners; these are people who are serving illegal “punishment” on the territory of the Russian Federation or the territory of temporarily occupied Crimea, 133 of them are Crimean Tatars. This exhibition tells about the persecution of Crimean Tatars, as most of the civilian journalists are Crimean Tatars, relatives or concerned neighbors who shoot videos and record detentions that are constantly taking place in the temporarily occupied territory.”

The Deputy Permanent Representative recalled that with the beginning of the full-scale invasion, new articles appeared in Russian legislation that could be used to convict Ukrainian citizens under occupation.

“The number of political prisoners will only increase; the occupiers send them far away to the territory of the Russian Federation, precisely to break the connection with Crimea, with their families, so that they cannot get access to quality legal aid.”

She noted that many political prisoners complain about poor conditions of detention, and several of them died before they were released, so it is essential to support such exhibitions and initiatives and talk about our people.

According to the organizers, the exhibition aims to demonstrate the tireless resistance of Ukrainians in the occupied territories who continue to fight for their rights and freedoms even in the face of constant repression. During the photo exhibition, there was also an information tent where city residents and guests wrote letters to political prisoners as part of the Letters to a Free Crimea campaign.виставки також працював інформаційний намет, у якому місцеві жителі та гості міста писали листи політв’язням у межах акції “Листи до вільного Криму”.