Court in Russia overturns the fine against Crimean woman human rights defender Lutfiye Zudieva
On 18 July 2024, the Fourth Court of Cassation of general jurisdiction in Krasnodar, Russia, annulled a fine given to woman human rights defender and journalist Lutfiya Zudiyeva for the so-called “abuse of freedom of mass information.” The Court agreed with the woman human rights defender’s argument that law enforcement officials had no right to accuse her of such allegations, as the responsibility of making such accusations lies with the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor).
On 20 March 2024, the Kyiv District Court in the city of Simferopol, Crimea, found woman human rights defender Lutfiye Zudieva guilty of “abusing the freedom on information”, envisioned by part 2.1 of Article 13.15 of the Code of Administrative Offences. Specifically, the Kyiv District Court reviewed the accusations that she reposted two posts from the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty media outlet on Facebook in 2022.
On 22 February 2024 Russian de-facto law enforcement officers in occupied Crimea raided the premises of the house of the woman human rights defender and journalist Lutfiye Zudieva in the city of Dzhankoi. After the raid, the law enforcement officials brought the woman human rights defender in for questioning at the Center for Combating Extremism in Simferopol. The authorities are accusing her of “abuse of freedom of mass information,” a crime, envisioned by Part 9, Article 13.15 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. The woman human rights defender awaits the Court date to be set.
Lutfiye Zudiyeva is a prominent Crimean Tatar woman human rights defender and member of the human rights movement Crimean Solidarity which monitors politically-motivated trials in Russian-occupied Crimea and supports political prisoners and their families. She also works as a journalist for the Ukrainian media outlet Graty. In September 2022, together with the editor-in-chief of Graty, she was shortlisted for the “Honour of the Profession” Ukrainian journalism award. In 2019, she cooperated with the film crew of the documentary about the repression of the Crimean Tatars “Tomorrow Comes Yesterday” (Turkey). Lutfiye Zudiyeva also founded the child development center Elif in Dzhankoy, Crimea which organizes educational events and activities for local children.
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- 25 July 2024 : Court in Russia overturns the fine against Crimean woman human rights defender Lutfiye Zudieva
- 21 March 2024 : Lutfiye Zudieva fined for “abuse of freedom on information”
- 23 February 2024 : Woman human rights defender and journalist Lutfiye Zudieva's house raided; later accused of violating Russia's censorship laws.
On 18 July 2024, the Fourth Court of Cassation of general jurisdiction in Krasnodar, Russia, annulled a fine given to woman human rights defender and journalist Lutfiya Zudiyeva for the so-called “abuse of freedom of mass information.” The Court agreed with the woman human rights defender’s argument that law enforcement officials had no right to accuse her of such allegations, as the responsibility of making such accusations lies with the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor).
Lutfiye Zudiyeva is a prominent Crimean Tatar woman human rights defender and member of the human rights movement Crimean Solidarity which monitors politically-motivated trials in Russian-occupied Crimea and supports political prisoners and their families. She also works as a journalist for the Ukrainian media outlet ‘Graty’. In September 2022, together with the editor-in-chief of Graty, she was shortlisted for the “Honour of the Profession” Ukrainian journalism award. In 2019, she cooperated with the film crew of the documentary about the repression of the Crimean Tatars “Tomorrow Comes Yesterday” (Turkey). Lutfiye Zudiyeva also founded the child development center Elif in Dzhankoy, Crimea which organizes educational events and activities for local children.
On 18 July 2024, the Fourth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Krasnodar, Russia, overturned the ruling by the Kyiv District court of the Russia-occupied Simferopol made on 20 March 2024. Lutfiye Zudiyeva was charged under Part 2.1 of Article 13.15 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences and ruled to pay a fine of 2.5 thousand roubles (approximately 25 EUR). The Court agreed that the administrative code clearly indicates that only Roskomnadzor, not the police, can issue such protocols. Her lawyer, human rights defender Emil Kurbedinov also emphasized that the case was fabricated to persecute and intimidate Lutfiye Zudieva as a journalist and human rights defender, in order to silence any truthful information from the peninsula.
On 22 February 2024, law enforcement officers in Russian-occupied Crimea raided Lutfiye Zudieva's house in Dzhankoi and seized her electronic devices. She was also targeted her for her social media posts on Facebook. One of the reposts, made in February 2022, concerned the imprisonment of an independent journalist Vadyslav Yesipenko. The other, dated August 2022, discussed the persecution of attorneys in Belarus; Lutfiye Zudieva reposted it and compared it to the situation concerning the rights of attorneys in Crimea. After the raid, the law enforcement officials brought the woman human rights defender in for questioning at the Center for Combating Extremism in Simferopol. The authorities accused her of “abuse of freedom of mass information.” On March 20, 2024, she was found guilty and fined. On April 9 2024, the so-called Supreme Court of Crimea, upheld the above-mentioned decision.
Front Line Defenders welcomes the decision to overturn the fine of woman human rights defender Lutfiye Zudieva. The organization continues to highlight that the targeting of human rights defenders in Crimea is part of a broader pattern of persecution in Russia-occupied Crimea, aimed at silencing human rights defenders, independent journalists and preventing them from doing their legitimate and peaceful work. The organization remains deeply concerned with the widespread practices of intimidation and legal harassment by Russia’s de-facto authorities in occupied Ukrainian territories.
On 20 March 2024, the Kyiv District Court in the city of Simferopol, Crimea, found woman human rights defender Lutfiye Zudieva guilty of “abusing the freedom on information”, envisioned by part 2.1 of Article 13.15 of the Code of Administrative Offences. Specifically, the Kyiv District Court reviewed the accusations that she reposted two posts from the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty media outlet on Facebook in 2022. The woman human rights defender did not indicate that this outlet is recognized by the Russian authorities as a "foreign agent.” One of the reposts, made in February 2022, concerned the imprisonment of independent jounalist Vadyslav Yesipenko. The other, dated, August 2022, discussed the persecution of attorneys in Belarus; Lutfiye Zudieva reposted it and compared it to the situation regarding the rights of attorneys in Crimea.
The Court fined Lutfiye Zudieva for RUB 2500 (approximately EUR 25) for this offense. The motion to fine the woman human rights defender was brought to the Court by the Russian law enforcement officers from the Center for Combating Extremism (Centre E) after they raided the woman human rights defender’s house and seized her equipment in February 2024. During the hearing, Lutfiye Zudieva’s attorney, Emil Kurbedinov, argued that according to Russian legislation, which has been de-facto enforced since Crimea’s occupation in 2014, only Roscomnadzor – the Russian Communications Supervison Agency - can put forward such accusations (parts 2.1 and 2.58 of Article 28.3 of the Code of Administratvie Offences). Emil Kurbedinov’s second argument focused on the fact that Lutfiye Zudiyeva is an indivudual, not a media organization, and she published the post on her private social media page. The Court chose to ignore these arguments. The Judge also refused to wait for Lutfiye Zudiyeva to arrive to her hearing, meaning that the woman human rights defender was not able to present her arguments during the session. The woman human rights defender and her lawyer will appeal this decision.
Lutfiye Zudiyeva is also being targeted for her social media posts on Facebook dated back to 2021: she is being accused reposting an article from ‘Hizb ut-Tahrir’, without indicating that they are considered a terrorist organization in Russia. Initially, the court hearing in the Magistrate’s Court of city of Simferopol was scheduled for March 20, 2024 as well, but was postponed until April 4, 2024.
On 22 February 2024 Russian de-facto law enforcement officers in occupied Crimea raided the premises of the house of the woman human rights defender and journalist Lutfiye Zudieva in the city of Dzhankoi. After the raid, the law enforcement officials brought the woman human rights defender in for questioning at the Center for Combating Extremism in Simferopol. The authorities are accusing her of “abuse of freedom of mass information,” a crime, envisioned by Part 9, Article 13.15 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. The woman human rights defender awaits the Court date to be set.
Lutfiye Zudiyeva is a prominent Crimean Tatar woman human rights defender and member of the human rights movement Crimean Solidarity which monitors politically-motivated trials in Russian-occupied Crimea and supports political prisoners and their families. She also works as a journalist for the Ukrainian media outlet Graty. In September 2022, together with the editor-in-chief of Graty, she was shortlisted for the “Honour of the Profession” Ukrainian journalism award. In 2019, she cooperated with the film crew of the documentary about the repression of the Crimean Tatars “Tomorrow Comes Yesterday” (Turkey). Lutfiye Zudiyeva also founded the child development center Elif in Dzhankoy, Crimea which organizes educational events and activities for local children.
On 22 February, 2024, at approximately 6 am local time, Russian law enforcement officers from the Center for Combating Extremism arrived at the house of the woman human rights defender Lutfiye Zudieva. The law enforcement officers refused to answer any questions and prevented her relatives and the human rights lawyers, Emil Kurbedinov and Edem Semedlyaev, to get in the house to support Lutfiye Zudieva. The law enforcement officers raided the woman human rights defender’s house; seized CCTV devices, phones, USB drives, and a laptop. After the raid, the law enforcement officials brought the woman human rights defender in for questioning at the Center for Combating Extremism in Simferopol.
Human rights lawyer, Emil Kurbedinov reported that the woman human rights defender is being targeted for the so-called “abuse of freedom of mass information,” a crime, envisioned by Part 1 and Part 2, Article 13.15 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. If found guilty, the woman human rights defender will face a fine of up to RUR 100,000 (approximately EUR 1,000) and a confiscation of the “tool of the administrative offense.” The woman human rights defender is being targetted for her social media posts on Facebook: in 2021, when mentioning the persecution of the representatives of the “Hizb ut-Tahrir” in Crimea, she did not indicate that it is recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia; and, in 2022, when mentioning Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty media outlet, she did not indicate that it is recognized by the Russian authorities as a "foreign agent.”
The woman human rights defender Lutfiye Zudiyeva was targeted previously by Russian de-facto authorities in Crimea for her human rights work. In July 2023, Lutfiye Zudiyeva was arbitrarily detained and then fined in Simferopol while trying to attend a trial at the Supreme Court of Russian-occupied Crimea, despite presenting her credentials as a journalist to the law enforcement officers. She was accused of being a part of this gathering “with the purpose of media coverage of it” and she subsequently “created an obstacle for pedestrian traffic,” an administrative offense envisioned by Article 20.2.2 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences.
Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned about targetting the woman human rights defender Lutfiye Zudieva, as the organization believes that she is being targted for her legitimate and peaceful human rights work. Front Line Defenders continues to raise its concern with the pattern of Russian authorities using “censorship laws” to persecute human rights defenders and lawyers in Crimea.
Front Line Defenders urges the Russian de-facto authorities in Crimea to:
1. Immediately and unconditionally stop administrative harassment against human rights defender Lutfiye Zudieva;
2. Stop using the growing amount of “censorship laws” to silence peaceful and legitimate human rights work of human rights defenders in Crimea;
3. Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Crimea are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.
