11:25 10.08.2020

Ombudswoman asks Zelensky, Shmyhal to provide families of Ukrainian political prisoners with adequate social protection

3 min read
Ombudswoman asks Zelensky, Shmyhal to provide families of Ukrainian political prisoners with adequate social protection

 Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denysova appealed to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to do everything possible to release Ukrainian political prisoners and instruct the government to provide their families with adequate social protection.

"I appeal to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky with a request to do everything possible to release Ukrainian political prisoners and instruct the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to provide their families with adequate social protection. I ask First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska to take each such family under her personal patronage," Denysova wrote on her Facebook page on Monday morning.

The ombudswoman also called on Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and members to urgently develop and submit to the Verkhovna Rada for consideration a bill on the regulation of the legal status and social protection of persons illegally deprived of their liberty as a result of armed aggression against Ukraine, as well as their family members, and to approve the relevant governmental social program.

In addition, Denysova called on international governmental and non-governmental organizations, in particular the International Committee of the Red Cross in Ukraine, to provide humanitarian aid to the prisoners and to help intensify the struggle in the international arena for their release.

Among other things, the ombudswoman recalled the tragedy that happened to the son of Ukrainian political prisoner Ruslan Suleimanov Musa, stressing that this is a consequence of the cynical occupation policy of the Russian Federation.

"According to the information I have, some 133 Ukrainian citizens, including 97 Crimean Tatars, are being persecuted by the Russian Federation for political reasons. Some 112 people are illegally detained on the territory of the Russian Federation and the temporarily occupied Crimea, the rest are restricted in movement and are at their place of residence. Of these, 71 citizens are the parents of 188 minor children," Denysova said.

Thus, according to her, ten wives of Kremlin prisoners, who are raising 12 children, live in various regions of mainland Ukraine, and 62 women with their children remained on the occupied peninsula.

"This autumn, in the occupied territory of Crimea, only 14 children of political prisoners will go to first grade from 17 children, so the 'leadership' of Crimean educational institutions ignored the rights to education of three children. Some 11 seriously ill children require special attention and care," Denysova said.

She also said that due to the lack of access to the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea, no state-owned organization can provide a systemic mechanism of social protection to the families of political prisoners.

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