4 Crimean Tatars are imprisoned in Crimea facing heavy sentences for involvement in an organization that is legal in Ukraine and other countries, but which Russia has labelled ‘terrorist’. There is no evidence that any of the men committed any crime, nor indeed that one of the men is even a member of Hizb ut-Takhrir. 

Iryna Mahdysh, Head of the Lviv Department of Culture, was forced to resign on Oct 7 after Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy made it clear he would not support her and ‘apologized’ for opinions she had expressed which offended many believers.

Three Muslims jailed in Russian-occupied Crimea since January on charges of involvement in the Hizb-ut-Tahrir movement which is banned as ‘terrorist’ in Russia and, but not in Ukraine (or in any other country) have now had their lawyer, Emil Kurbedinov, forcibly removed from the case.

Archbishop Clement of Simferopol and Crimea (Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate) has issued an impassioned appeal on behalf of the Church and all Ukrainians in Crimea asking the UN, OSCE, EU countries, and especially those countries who once guaranteed Ukraine’s territorial integrity through the Budapest Memorandum, to defend the national, cultural and religious rights of all Ukrainian nationals in Crimea.

A recent report highlights widespread and systematic persecution of all religious groups except believers linked to the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Donbas, and the role of Russia and its armed criminal ‘crusaders’ in mounting crimes against humanity in the region.

A year after Russia annexed Crimea, almost all faiths are experiencing serious pressure from the occupation regime, with the regulations on Russian re-registration and restrictions on Ukrainian nationals serving to drive many out and / or prevent them from functioning legally.

As feared, the demand that religious communities re-register according to Russian legislation is being used as a weapon enabling an effective ban on Ukrainian churches and religious organizations functioning in Crimea.

Faced with the damning evidence of wide-scale religious persecution in Russian-occupied Crimea, Moscow, via Kremlin-loyal media, has attempted yet again to turn the truth upside down. The weight of facts is against them and they really should not bother.

"Who could have imagined that in the 21st century in the centre of Europe we would be seeing widespread repression unleashed on the basis of religion? (Said Ismagilov, Mufti of the Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of Ukraine)

As feared, it seems that the occupation regime’s demand that religious communities re-register according to Russian legislation is being used as a weapon to remove many churches that have long existed in the Crimea.

The first pronouncements by the head of a new mufftiat formed in the Crimea and a scandalous mosque seizure have aroused suspicion that the moves are aimed at creating a schism among Crimean Muslims and weakening the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People which has consistently opposed Russia’s occupation of the Crimea.

The boarding school for gifted children in the village of Tankove, Bakhchysarai district was subjected to a search on Tuesday

In the latest hunt for non-existent ‘extremism’ carried out by Russia’s FSB and the Crimean occupation regime, law enforcement officers have carried out searches of s number of Crimean Tatar homes. The Mejlis, or Crimean Tatar representative body considers the searches a form of deliberate intimidation

The Crimean prosecutor under Russian occupation has fined the director of a Dzhanoye district madrasa or religious school for possession of what it considers ‘extremist’ material

The director of a Crimean Muslim school is facing court proceedings for possessing books from Russia’s list of prohibited ‘extremist literature’. Under Russian occupation ‘extremism’ is increasingly becoming a weapon particularly aimed at Crimean Tatars

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has pointed to ongoing concerns, the imprisonment of Oleg Sentsov and three other activists; the banning of Refat Chubarov and Mustafa Dzhemiliev from their homeland; religious harassment; and much more, with none of its previous recommendations implemented

The funeral has taken place of four members, two deacons and the sons of the Pastor of he Slovyansk evangelical Church of the Transformation tortured and killed by Kremlin-backed militants from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.

Faced with the murder by Kremlin-backed militants of four members of a Slovyansk evangelical church, Russia’s state-owned ‘Voice of Russia’ radio could have stayed silent. It opted for a far more cynical approach. Against all evidence, it reports that the men were murdered by the Ukrainian army for helping ‘insurgents’.

A Polish Roman Catholic priest from Horlivka, Father Viktor Wąsowicz has been taken hostage by the Kremlin-backed militants whom certain EU leaders are joining Russia in insisting that Ukraine holds peace negotiations with.

Father Tkhon has been released and is in a safe place after being held by militants from the so-called ‘Russian Orthodox Army’. According to Pastor Sergey Kosyak Father Tikhon is in a very bad state both physically and mentally