Human rights activists and deputies in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine presented bills in support of the families of Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia. According to the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Lyudmyla Denisova, there are now more than a hundred people on the Kremlin’s list of political prisoners, most of them Crimeans.

Among the new bills are acts on social and legal protection of persons against whom the facts of personal freedom have been established as a result of armed aggression against Ukraine, and members of their families, on amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses to establish liability for failure to comply with legal requirements. the fact of the person of the person of the personal code of freedom as a result of armed struggle against Ukraine, and also about some rights to the Tax. The initiator of the bills is the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky. The significance of these documents was aired Radio Crimea. Realities.

People’s Deputy of Ukraine Rustem Umerov to consider Crimea. Realities on the content of new bills.

– Bill No. 6104 proposes a separate option – the establishment of commissions on the installation facts of freedom and providing victims of political persecution with the appropriate status and purpose of assistance. Bill 6105 introduces administrative liability for non-compliance with the requirement to provide information and documents at the request of the commission. Bill 6106 amends the Tax Code: for the duration of the event of freedom and for six months after the release of Kremlin prisoners, they are exempt from submitting tax returns.

Executive Director of the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties Alexander Romantsov emphasizes that a systematic approach is needed to support current and former Ukrainian prisoners through Russian action.

– It was human rights activists who submitted ready-made projects to the President’s Office, which were further processed. This is the result of five years of work by human rights organizations, and a good signal that the President’s Office is ready to listen and respect their expertise. It is very important that there will now be a commission that has the status of a victim of Russian aggression – it has covered all people who were imprisoned due to the occupation of Crimea and the war in Donbass, both civilian and military. In the international context, the term “political prisoners” still has a different meaning. It is necessary to support the relatives of the victims of Russia’s aggression and these people themselves when they are released. Paying taxes, there are still issues of loans and a number of other important aspects. These bills are important not only for systemic assistance, but also for the reintegration and rehabilitation of those released.

According to Alexandra Romantsova, the newly created, the result of considering from four to seven thousand cases of victims of Russian aggression, most likely, will lead to the creation of a special database. Therefore, they believe with those human rights activists that the Ukrainian authorities need to intensify work to maintain constant contact with the relatives of Kremlin prisoners. The latter often complain about the well-known circumstances of communication from the Presidential Offices and other companies.

The father of a political prisoner Valentyn Vyhivsky Peter Vyhivsky welcomes the new bills, stating that they eliminate bureaucratic loopholes for material assistance, medical care, etc.

– Now the procedures for applying for relatives are repeated, that is, all seven years that my son is in prison, we collect documents every year and confirm again, it takes a lot of time and resources. We hope that now it will be organized and less dependent on officials … We have now in the last few months, why there is no connection with the son, letters from him do not arrive. Valentin wrote the last letter on July 18 and sent it – we know for sure, thanks to this term he was a lawyer in it – but he never came. That’s why it’s hard for me to say what the situation is there today. He went on a hunger strike to change the conditions of his detention: he was kept in a remand prison for five years, which is a record. In June-July, he was finally transferred to special conditions of detention, which was a big increase.

Meanwhile, a Russian lawyer Mark Fagin reflects on why Russia has been in no hurry to release Ukrainian hostages for the past two years.

– Lack of new exchanges – the decision of the Moscow side. The Kremlin does not need to do anything about it, it does not hang over anything. The issue of humanitarian rescue of its citizens is on the nerves only of President Zelensky, for example, the game from Vladimir Putin, it was really chosen by people. It seems to me that there are no other tactics here, except for the harsh mirror actions of Kyiv against the Moscow agency in Ukraine. The same Victor Medvedchuk – a great resource for sharing. According to Putin’s godfather, all political prisoners in Russia can be exchanged at once, but Ukraine will have to choose Moscow agents. The so-called big exchange in September 2019 was an advance from Putin, who considered Zelensky a better president than Petro Poroshenko, but later disappointed in it at a meeting in the “Norman format”.

Earlier in an interview with the TV channel ICTV President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky revealthat the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Victor Medvedchuk could become the candidate for an exchange at confirmation of this Russian citizenship. Under Medvedchuk, he is certain that he “has no other citizenship than Ukrainian,” and he calls his research political. A criminal case has been filed against him, Medvedchu is found in the state council and in violation of the law and ordinary war.

(Text prepared by Vladislav Lentsev)