Residents of Sevastopol were warned about the risks of going for a Ukrainian biometric passport
The government of Sevastopol warned citizens against traveling to the Kherson region to obtain biometric passports of Ukraine.
This was reported by New Sevastopol.
“They can be detained by SBU and police officers under any pretext. Under the threat of criminal prosecution and a ban on returning to the peninsula, Crimeans are being persuaded to make a written confession that allegedly state authorities forced them to participate in elections,” said Vladimir Tatarchuk, director of the public security department, today.
In addition, it is noted that there are cases of detention in the Odessa region of foreign sailors who tried to work using Ukrainian documents.
An investigation by the Ukrainian publication Strana last year showed that after Ukraine received a visa-free regime for travel to the EU, the flow of Crimeans wishing to obtain biometric foreign passports did not increase. Since the reunification of Crimea with Russia, the territorial divisions of the migration service of the Kherson region have provided Crimeans with more than 50 thousand administrative services, but since 2016 there has been a drop in the number of requests.
Perhaps Crimeans are stopped by reports of the arrests of their fellow citizens.
The wording “on suspicion of participation in illegal elections on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula” became the basis for the detention of the SBU on June 20, the chairman of the village council of the Chernomorsky district of the Republic of Crimea, Ivan Ryabokon.
On September 22, 2015, ex-deputy of the Sevastopol City Council Vladimir Galichy was arrested on charges of treason. On January 5, Pyotr Mikhalchevsky, ex-Minister of Health of the Republic of Crimea, was arrested. On February 1, ex-Deputy Minister of Sports of the Republic of Crimea Farukh Kamalov was detained. On April 6, deputy of the Yevpatoria City Council Sergei Osminin was detained.
The Military Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine has opened criminal cases for treason against former servicemen of the Ukrainian armed forces who remained on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula after the 2014 referendum, Maxim Odintsov and Alexander Baranov, who were detained at the border.
Residents of Sevastopol have been warned of the risks of applying for a Ukrainian biometric passport.