MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Russia, notably the situation of environmental activists and Ukrainian political prisoners
16.7.2019 - (2019/2734(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure
Anna Fotyga, Karol Karski, Jacek Saryusz‑Wolski, Ryszard Czarnecki, Geoffrey Van Orden, Charlie Weimers, Zdzisław Krasnodębski, Ruža Tomašić, Alexandr Vondra, Veronika Vrecionová, Jan Zahradil, Evžen Tošenovský, Witold Jan Waszczykowski
on behalf of the ECR Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0012/2019
B9‑0016/2019
European Parliament resolution on Russia, notably the situation of environmental activists and Ukrainian political prisoners
The European Parliament,
- having regard to its previous resolutions on Russia, illegaly occupied Crimea and on Eastern Ukraine,
- having regard to the Council decisions continuing the sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation in relation to the illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula,
- having regard the Geneva Convention relative to the Prosecution of Civilian Persons in Time of War,
- having regard to the Report ‘Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine)’ of 25 September 2017 of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
- having regard to article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which provide that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and to which Russian Federation is a party,
- having regard to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,
- having regard to Rule 135 of its Rules of Procedure,
A. Whereas the illegal occupation of Crimea in 2014 and subsequent aggression in Eastern Ukraine by Russian Federation marks a beginning of a wide-spread violation of human rights, including disappearances, harassment and unlawful detentions of ethnic Crimean Tatars and members of Ukrainian communities;
B. Whereas over 100 Ukrainian citizens are currently being held as Russian political prisoners or facing restrictions to freedom of movement (61 in Russia and 49 in the territory of the occupied Crimea); whereas many of these people are subject to inhumane and degrading treatment which in some cases may pose serious risk to their health and life;
C. whereas since illegal occupation 6 individuals died in Crimean prisons, 17 persons disappeared, 207 were arrested on fabricated charges - including 145 of Crimean Tatars and at least 492 instances of the right to a fair trial infringement were reported; whereas the Crimean Tatar population continues to be disproportionately affected by intimidation, police raids, physical attacks and disappearances;
D. whereas separatists forces supported by Russia are holding at least 130 Ukrainian prisoners in Donbas region, including no less than 25 soldiers;
E. whereas on 10 July 2019 seven Crimean Tatars who peacefully protested against the repressions were detained in Moscow and subjected to administrative penalties; whereas on 11 July 2019 nearly 50 Crimean Tatars were detained and subjected to administrative penalties;
F. whereas on 19 April 2017 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an Order on provisional measures, according to which Russia must “refrain from maintaining or imposing limitations on the ability of the Crimean Tatar community to conserve its representative institutions, including the Mejlis”, and therefore must immediately lift the ban on Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people and stop unlawful prosecution against its leaders;
G. Whereas in November 2018 Russian navy attacked and seized three Ukrainian vessels in the Kerch Strait and arrested 24 Ukrainian servicemen; whereas in May 2019 UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) issued a binding order urging Russia to release the sailors immediately; whereas pending their release, these servicemen should be treated as prisoners of war;
H. Whereas on 30 May 2019 five criminal cases were opened against the director of environmental rights organisation “Ecodefence!”, Aleksandra Korolyova; whereas these charges stem from failure to comply with provisions of the 2012 “foreign agents law”, which places numerous discriminatory requirements on entities arbitrarily registered by Russian authorities as a foreign agent; whereas “Ecodefence!” was earlier fined over 2 million roubles and faced blocking of its bank accounts;
I. Whereas until early 2019 a total number of 75 NGOs were added to the “foreign agents” register, including all leading human rights organisations; whereas many of the NGOs previously listed as foreign agents were effectively forced to close down;
1. Demands that the Russian authorities immediately and unconditionally release illegally detained Ukrainian citizens in Russia: Oleh SENTSOV, Oleksandr KOLCHENKO, Oleksiy CHYRNIY, Mykola KARPYUK, Stanislav KLYKH, Valentyn VYHIVSKYI, Yurii PRIMOV, Rustem VAITOV, Ruslan ZEYTULLAYEV, Ferat SAYFULLAYEV, Viktor SHUR, Andriy KOLOMIYETS, Roman SUSHCHENKO, Pavlo HRYB, Oleksiy SYZONOVYCH, Enver MAMUTOV, Rustem ABILTAROV, Zevri ABSEITOV, Remzi MEMETOV, Henadii LYMESHKO, Yevhen PANOV, Hlib SHABLII, Volodymyr PRISICH, Ihor KYIASHKO, Teimur ABDULLAIEV, Uzeir ABDULLAIEV, Rustem ISMAILOV, Aider SALEDINOV, Emil DZHEMADENOV, Volodymyr BALUKH, Dmytro SHTYBLIKOV, Muslim ALIYEV, Emir USEIN KUKU, Vadym SIRUK, Inver BEKIROV, Refat ALIMOV, Arsen DZHEPPAROV, Oleksandr Shumkov, Tofik ABDULGAZIEV, Izzet ABDULLAEV, Vladlen ABDULKADYROV, Mejit ABDURAKHMANOV, Adilov BILYAL, Enver AMETOV, Osman ARIFMEMETOV, Farkhod BAZAROV, Akim BEKIROV, Remzi BEKIROV, Servet GAZIEV, Dzhemil GAFAROV, Reza IZETOV, Alim KARIMOV, Seyran MURTAZA, Yashar MUYEDINOV, Erfan OSMANOV, Seytveli SEITABDIEV, Rustem SEITHALILOV. Ruslan SULEYMANOV, Shaban UMEROV, Rustem SHEIKHALIYEV andAsan YANIKOV;
2. Likewise, demands immediate and unconditional release of illegaly detained Ukrainian citizens held on the Crimean peninsula: Marlen ASANOV, Seiran SALIIEV, Memet BELIALOV, Tymur IBRAHIMOV, Server ZEKIRIAIEV, Ernes AMETOV, Oleksiy BESSARABOV, Volodymyr DUDKA, Oleksii STOHNII, Mykola SHYPTUR, Evhen KARAKASHEV, Nariman MEMEDEMINOV, Oleksandr STESHENKO, Enver SEITOSMANOV, Server MUSTAFAIEV, Edem SMAILOV, Edem BEKIROV, Diliaver GAFAROV, Renat SULEIMANOV, Eskender ABDULGANIEV, Rustem EMIRUSEINOV, Arsen ABKHAIROV, Raim AIVAZOV;
3. Urges Russia to immediately release 24 Ukrainian crewmen and implement all of the orders of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the International Court of Justice and European Court of Human Rights and to treat them - pending their release - as prisoners of war, with all appropriate assistance in accordance with relevant provisions of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions;
4. Additionally, calls on Russia to publish a full list of prisoners held in occupied Ukrainian territories in Donbas and Luhansk and facilitate their contact with families and lawyers;
5. Condemns Russia’s violations of international law in occupied Crimea, including the enforcement of Russian legislation, the heavy militarisation of the Crimean peninsula and unlawful actions in the Kerch Strait that threatens the regional security, and the massive and systematic human rights violations targeting, in particular, ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars;
6. Urges Russia to implement the provisional measures prescribed by the ICJ and lift the ban on Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people; in view of the dire situation of the Crimean Tatar people in illegally occupied Crimea, calls on Ukraine to further increase its efforts in protecting their individual and collective rights, particularly those of an indigenous people;
7. Reconfirms in this regard full support to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in its internationally recognised borders and reiterates the utmost importance of the policy of unrecognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea;
8. Demands from the Russian Federation to provide unhindered access to the occupied Ukrainian territories of Crimea and Donbas for the international and humanitarian organizations, in particular, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission, the OSCE Human Rights Assessment Mission on Crimea, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Committee of the Red Cross;
9. Calls to establish the permanent monitoring by the EU diplomats and representatives of the international organisations of the trials on the mentioned victims in the Russian Federation and the occupied Crimea;
10. Invites to organize missions of the medical doctors to Ukrainian citizens who are under politically motivated trials in the Russian Federation and the occupied Crimea with an aim to monitor their detention conditions and health;
11. Urges Russian authorities to immediately drop all charges against Aleksandra Korolyova, cancel the administrative fines issued against “Ecodefence!” and lift the organisation’s foreign agent status;
12. Reiterates its serious concerns about the ‘foreign agent’ law and the way it is being implemented; demands that the Russian authorities cease the intimidation and harassment of the human rights organisations and allow them to carry out their work;
13. Calls on the Council to introduce personal sanctions against the Russian officials directly responsible for gross human rights violations in the occupied Crimea, as well as judges and prosecutors responsible for the arrest of 24 Ukrainian crewmen;
14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the President, Government and Parliament of the Russian Federation.