Crimean Solidarity has lodged an important new initiative in occupied Crimea, in which members of the community “become the voice” of the mounting number of political prisoners whom Russia has imprisoned for their faith and civic activism. Some of those who have made videos about the prisoners as part of the ‘Become their Voice’ [«Стань их голосом»] initiative know from direct experience how important acts of solidarity and practical assistance are to the direct targets of repression and to their families. Very many of the Crimean Tatar political prisoners are civic activists whose arrests on fictitious ‘terrorism’ charges followed their tireless work in helping victims of repression. At least nine men are imprisoned also for acting as civic journalists, ensuring that information was circulated within Crimea and beyond, given Russia’s elimination of independent media.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
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Halya Coynash: Crimean Tatars become political prisoners’ voice
A man holds his son and the National flag of Crimean Tatars during a memorial ceremony on the Independence square in Kyiv on May 18, 2019 in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the deportation of the indigenous population of the Crimea by the Soviet Union.
