Some Russian and Ukrainian laws violate human rights of Crimean residents - experts
Kyiv, January 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian and Russian human rights advocates have said that some Ukrainian and Russian laws violate the human rights and freedoms of Crimean residents.
"There are more than five new laws bringing threats to Crimean residents. We've selected those which are the biggest threat. These are Russian laws on harsher punishments for extremism and separatism, for double citizenship, the Ukrainian law on a free economic zone in Crimea, and the laws passed by Crimean authorities on the legalization of self-defense movements," Chairman of the Crimean Field Mission on Human Rights (Russia and Ukraine) Andriy Yurov said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Monday.
He said that Crimean residents have become hostages of the situation in Crimea, which is Ukrainian under international law but is de facto part of Russia.
Helsinki Human Rights Union expert Daria Svyrydova said that among the many legislative initiatives there are those which restrict human rights and are not in line with international laws.
She said she had concerns about the creation of a free economic zone in Crimea, which along with National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) resolutions, declares Ukrainian citizens living in Crimea as nonresidents.
"The law violates several principals of the Ukrainian Constitution and is discriminatory from the point of view of the European Convention on Human Rights," she said.
She also mentioned Russian migration laws.
"In 2014, a certain new requirement was introduced to Russian law on the obligatory notification of second citizenship," she said, adding that the failure to register dual nationality would lead to punishment.
Deputy Head of the Crimean Field Mission on Human Rights Olha Skrypnyk also mentioned the restriction of railway and bus movement to/from Crimea, and a law passed by Crimean authorities on people's voluntary military forces - vigilante groups.
"It [the law] actually legalizes these paramilitary groups. Despite the fact that Crimean self-defense groups are involved in kidnapping, murders, seizure of property, dispersal of peaceful demonstrators, attacks on journalists, no one is punished," she said.
Another representative of the Crimean Field Mission, Dmytro Makarov, also named some Russian laws, in particular, the so-called anti-extremist laws, which introduce harsher penalties for extremism.
He said that another threat to the observation of human rights is amendments to the Russian Criminal Code, which stipulate punishments for separatism.