«A tool to remind one that “the authorities” are there». Russian security forces have issued another «warning» to Lutfiye Zudieva, journalist and human rights defender from Crimea

Law enforcement officers in Russian-occupied Crimea have presented the human rights defender and journalist Lutfiye Zudieva with a «warning against law violation». In this document, she was informed of her responsibility for potential violations of the Russian legislation on mass gatherings, the so-called «discrediting» of the Russian army, and extremism. She had received a similar document in May last year, along with four other prominent Crimean human rights defenders. International human rights organisations have recognised this as legal persecution. 

Graty explains these recent developments. 

«Fulfilling task, not aware of details»

Representatives of the Crimean branch of the Russian Ministry of Interior delivered a «warning» to Lutfiye Zudieva at her home in the Dzhankoy district of Crimea at 1 p.m. on Saturday, 18 October. Around the same time, according to the  journalist, similar documents were also delivered to several civil society activists in the Dzhankoy district and in other districts of Crimea. 

A «warning» is a declarative document listing the responsibilities under the Russian law for a number of offences, in particular those related to unlawful assembly, displaying Nazi symbols, the so-called discreditation of the Russian army, illegal acquisition and possession of weapons, as well as public incitement to extremist activities and violation of the territorial integrity of Russia. The recipient of the «warning» is required to put their signature, by which they confirm reading it, and having no plan to commit such acts in the future. 

According to Zudiyeva, she asked the police officers why she was being given another «warning». They responded  that they were «not aware of any details and were simply fulfilling a task they had been ordered with».

«I asked if I was still in the Ministry of Interior’s database. They replied, “Of course”. One of the officers was holding a list they were using to carry out this work. It is difficult to say what this is [actually] related to. On the one hand, this is an old, rather systematic practice, that has previously taken place on the eve of commemorative dates and events that may give rise to spontaneous meetings and gatherings, such as 18 May — the Day of Remembrance of the Deportation of the Crimean Tatars. On the other hand, just before the “warning”, arrests of several women in Crimea had shaken civil society. So I do not rule out that the police visit was related to this particular event»,  —  Lutfiye Zudieva says. 

Database of «unreliable» activists in Crimea

This is not the first time Zudieva is given a «warning against law violation». In May 2014, similar documents were handed to her and human rights lawyers Lilia Gemedzhi and Rustem Kamiliev, whose licences to practise law were revoked by Russia, as well as to human rights lawyer Nazim Sheikhmambetov, and Seit-Osman Karaliyev, a public defender from the city of Sudak who assists with legal advice in administrative cases.

Lawyers Lilia Gemedzhi, Safie Shabanova, and Emine Avamileva await meetings with their clients. Photo: Crimean Solidarity

The international human rights organisation Front Line Defenders recognised these actions as acts of legal persecution and called on Russia to stop pressuring civil society in Crimea.

According to Lutfiye Zudieva, she had also been handed «warnings» in the previous years. 

«I even tried to contest one of them in court. During the hearing, officials from the Dzhankoy department of the Interior Ministry presented an internal document containing a non-public listing of Dzhankoy and Dzhankoy district residents from the Interior Ministry’s database. These people are the ones they repeatedly visited with such “warnings”», — she notes. 

According to the journalist, this is done to make people afraid to engage in activism or any public activity in Crimea. 

«Of course, such “warnings” are a soft form of censorship. It is a tool to systematically remind people that the “authorities” are there, and they have a database of “unreliable people”. For some people, this works exactly as the police had intended, creating a “chilling effect”», — Zudiyeva says.

Growing pressure on Zudiyeva

This year, Russian authorities have increased their pressure on the journalist and human rights defender for her peaceful and lawful activities. On 16 May 2025, the Russian Ministry of Justice designated Lutfiye Zudieva as a «foreign agent», calling her journalistic and human rights activities «political». The Ministry of Justice relied on the «information» received from Roskomnadzor and the Crimean departments of the Russian Ministry of Interior and the FSB in 2024 and 2025. The report contained web links to her journalistic materials on human rights issues, as well as interviews she gave to international organisations and media outlets. 

Lutfiye Zudieva tried to have her «foreign agent» status  revoked at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow, but the court rejected her request on 11 August 2015. The journalist is currently awaiting the court’s consideration of her appeal on the matter. 

A Moscow court has upheld the “foreign agent” status for the Crimean journalist and human rights activist Lutfiye Zudieva

Despite her attempts to prove the legitimacy of her activities, on 15 September, the Dzhankoy District Court of Crimea fined Zudieva for her alleged violation of Russian laws on «foreign agents». Zudiyeva had allegedly failed to notify the authorities about her intention to engage in «foreign agent activities» so as to be included in their «foreign agents» registry beforehand. This resolution is also being appealed. 

“This is a matter of my conscience as a human being.” A court in Crimea fined journalist and human rights activist Lutfiye Zudieva under the “foreign agents” law

According to the journalist, in addition to legal pressure, she faces discrediting publications and threats. A few days after she was declared a «foreign agent», an article mentioning her in a «sarcastic tone» appeared on one of the Internet sources available in Crimea. 

«It was reposted on some pro-government [Russian] Telegram channels. There was a huge number of negative [anonymous] comments, ranging from “Why does she still live in Crimea?” to calls for deporting [me]. I’d decided to ignore it, and I still hold that position. This is a demonstration of the social culture of these people. Nevertheless, for my friends and loved ones, this is an alarming signal, and they are very worried», — she notes. 

Lutfiye Zudieva lives in Crimea and has been covering repression and human rights violations in the peninsula since 2016, including politically motivated cases against Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in Crimea, the conditions of detention of political prisoners, illegal transfer of convicts outside the peninsula, and torture in Russian penal colonies. 

She joined the team of Graty in July 2021 as an intern. In 2024, she won the Ukrainian award «Honour of the Profession» for her podcast «Захисниця. Imayeci» about the enforced disappearance of Iryna Danylovych, and was shortlisted for the Free Press Award international journalism prize in the «Resilience in Journalism» category.

Zudiyeva herself has also been persecuted on numerous occasions: the journalist was detained while covering politically motivated trials in Crimea, her family’s home was searched, and she was fined. 

Ukrainian and international human rights organisations have spoken out in defence of Lutfiye Zudieva, demanding an end to her persecution. UN special rapporteurs have recommended that the Russian government take measures to stop violations against Crimean human rights defenders and lawyers, including Zudieva. Russia has not responded to their statements.