Russia reportedly sending Crimea residents to prisons outside of peninsula

Multiple Crimea residents prosecuted for criminal offenses under Russian law have been sent to penal colonies outside of the peninsula, the Ukrainian outlet Grati has reported.

One such case belongs to Valeria Goldenberg, who was sentenced to two years in prison on charges of desecrating the burial site of a Russian soldier; according to her lawyer, Marlen Khalikov, she was sent to a penal colony in Dagestan. Oleksandr Tarapon, who was sentenced to two and half years in prison for an anti-war sign, was sent to Dagestan as well.

Seven members of the Crimean Solidarity movement — a group of lawyers, relatives of political prisoners, and activists dedicated to helping victims of political and religious persecution — were also sent to prisons in Russia. All of them were given prison sentences ranging from 13–19 years.

In addition, at least seven Crimea residents are known to have been sent to prisons in Russia’s Tambov, Tula, Novgorod, Ryazan, and Kostroma regions, as well as one in the Mordovia Republic.

Human rights lawyer Emil Kurbedinov told Grati that he’s trying to challenge the prison transfers in court as they violate the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit the forcible transfer of the population from occupied territory.

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