Meet Olha Skrypnyk

[ topic ] Peace and Human Rights

The measures taken by Russia directed against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine began in 2014 with the occupation of Crimea. Olga Skrypnyk knows this all too well – she and other activists, human rights defenders, and journalists documented evidence of crimes in the field. After moving to Kyiv following persecution by the Russian Federation, together they founded the Crimean Human Rights Group to document events, raise international awareness, and, most importantly, bring Ukrainians back from captivity.

Switzerland had already emphasized in 2014 that the referendum held in Crimea on 16 March 2014 was illegal and that Russia’s occupation of the region violated international law, in particular the principle of states’ territorial integrity. Switzerland was the first reliable and stable partner to support the organization in this difficult mission and has been doing so at various levels for 10 years.

Peace, justice and strong institutions / 16

When the occupation of Crimea began in 2014, my colleagues and I – activists, human rights defenders, and journalists from all over the peninsula – joined the protests and started the documentation process. In Yalta, I collected evidence proving that it was a military operation conducted by the Russian army and not a so-called “referendum.” Most of us left Crimea in 2014 because Russia began persecuting us on trumped-up criminal charges. Thus, we moved to the territory controlled by Ukraine but continued our activities. This is how we created the Crimean Human Rights Group.

Since April 2014, we have been conducting a monitoring mission in Crimea based on the UN standards and publishing our first reports on human rights violations. We have been doing this for 11 years, and our reports are a source of information for many international organizations.

But the most important thing for us is being present there, in Crimea, because we are still doing fieldwork, in particular documenting and monitoring politically motivated persecution.

The abductions and killings began immediately, with Reshat Ametov becoming the first victim. Then there was the well-known political case of film director Oleh Sentsov, whom we searched for together with “Automaidan” activists. We are still monitoring politically motivated trials, and after 2022, we expanded our focus to include the occupied parts of the South of Ukraine: the Kherson region and Zaporizhzhia.

Right now, our list includes at least 290 Ukrainian citizens from Crimea who are unlawfully confined on fabricated charges. Some of them have been imprisoned since 2014, others since 2022. One of the important aspects of our work is searching for people in Crimean detention centers (SIZO) and ensuring that Russia acknowledges the confinement of specific individuals. In addition, we provide legal assistance and support to families of political prisoners and civilian hostages.

Much of the Crimean Human Rights Group’s work takes place behind the scenes — focused on monitoring, advocacy, and documentation.

The best thing that has happened to us in these 11 years is seeing our people return home. However, during the entire period of occupation, only 10 Ukrainians from Crimea have been released under political agreements. We accompanied half of these cases. Now, like many other organizations, we are fighting for effective mechanisms for the liberation of civilian prisoners, as there are thousands of them. Unfortunately, citizens from Crimea are rarely among those returned, with only two people having been freed from Russian captivity since 2022.

From the beginning, it was difficult to explain to foreign partners that this was not a local issue but a regional one – a European concern. Right away, we warned people that the occupation of Crimea and part of Donetsk and Luhansk regions was only the beginning. We collected evidence that Russia was militarizing the civilian population, including children. And in 2021, we found out that Russia was blocking at least 34 Ukrainian radio frequencies in the Kherson region and broadcasting its propaganda instead. However, the international community lacked evidence that Russia would go further. At the same time, 2014 had already proven to Putin that he could go further.

Now, Crimea is a base for launching missiles at civilian targets in Ukraine. What a surreal feeling when your new home is being shelled from your old home.

This is my Crimea, but it became the first platform that Russia used to test practices of persecution of civilians, militarization, forced passportization, and torture. The most terrifying thing is when we receive new information about a person who must be declared dead in captivity, and we have to establish the date of death.

We have to do everything possible to return our people.

We are working actively, but it seems our efforts have not brought any results, as neither Putin nor Shoigu has been imprisoned yet. This is difficult, as we need to stay motivated, but we clearly understand that such enormous and large-scale tragedies always require a lot of time to investigate. For example, look at the path Ukraine had to take to have the Holodomor recognized as a genocide. Thus, we are aware that the process of bringing those responsible to justice will be long-lasting. I am sincerely grateful to the team, which also understands this and finds the strength to continue the work.

The only thing that keeps us going, motivates us, and gives us strength is people. In Ukraine, you can go out in the morning after a night of ballistic strikes and hundreds of “Shahed” drones, and people smile at you. It is impossible not to be inspired here. These are also the people who are now in Crimea and whom we are trying to help. Those who are behind bars but yet unbroken. Those who have fought for freedom and the sake of truth and justice. My team and the human rights community as a whole motivate me.

Olga notes that her children give her strength. After all, she dreams of showing them her Crimea, her home, and her Black Sea.

Switzerland was one of our first partners, and this support has lasted since 2014 to this day at various levels: financial, advocacy, and organizational. This country believed in us and immediately saw the potential and importance of our work, which is often non-public. We are very grateful for this cooperation, which allows us to maintain institutional continuity. Our fundamental approach is based on continuous monitoring and documentation. We value Switzerland’s support precisely because of its deep understanding of these core processes.

This assistance in no way contradicts the position of neutrality. On the contrary, it is necessary to be objective, neutral, and make important decisions. And for this, one must have verified information to rely on. This is exactly what we provide. There is no UN, Red Cross, or OSCE in Crimea, only human rights organizations. Switzerland understands this and, particularly, contributes to the international agenda by sharing this valuable data with other countries.

Like for everyone else, 2022 was a challenge for us – everything was complicated, unclear, and frightening – but we must continue our work no matter what. Unfortunately, the need for our activities has only grown.

Switzerland has proven itself to be not only a steady but also a flexible partner.

We made many changes to the budget and took numerous unplanned steps before February 24, 2022. When the Kyiv region was liberated from the invaders, we went on field missions to document the shelling of civilian objects in Irpin, Bucha, and Borodianka. Everything had to be done quickly and efficiently while the evidence was still available at the places. Switzerland understood this and made all the changes that allowed us to obtain important information in April 2022. Although this was not our focus at the time, many people were doing what needed to be done rather than what they could or wanted to do. It would have been difficult without our partners.

In our partnership with Switzerland, we deeply value institutional vision, continuity, flexibility, and genuine care for people.