A/HRC/41/CRP.2 99. On 17 April 2019, the 24 crew members seized during the 25 November 2018 incident near the Kerch Strait106 had their measure of restraint extended for another three months until 24 or 26 July 2019.107 OHCHR recalls that international human rights law requires detention to be consistent with applicable international law in order to avoid being arbitrary. 100. The International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea hearing in the case between Ukraine and the Russian Federation108 was held on 10 and 11 May 2019, with an order on provisional measures issued on 25 May. The provisional measures called for the Russian Federation to immediately release the Ukrainian naval vessels, and immediately release the 24 detained Ukrainian crew members and allow them to return to Ukraine. It also called for both Ukraine and the Russian Federation to refrain from taking any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute.109 B. Rights of detainees in Crimea 101. Over the reporting period, OHCHR continued to receive credible reports about inhuman conditions in official places of detention in Crimea, which may amount to illtreatment. As in previous years, “SIZO No. 1” in Simferopol, the only pre-trial detention facility in Crimea, remained heavily overcrowded. Built with a maximum capacity of 747 individuals, during 2018, the average number of prisoners was 1,349. 110 Inside prison cells, overcrowding necessitated sleeping schedules. Because of the broken toilet flushing system, inmates had to use empty bottles to push faeces through the canalisation, and faced extremely cold winter conditions. Prior to detention visits by the Russian Federation Ombudsperson, the SIZO administration reportedly instructed detainees not to complain or risk “making [the conditions of detention] even worse”.111 “The more you scream, the worse you make it for yourself and your relatives.” - An FSB officer to a torture victim. 102. Detainees belonging to vulnerable groups, including the elderly and people with disabilities, are disproportionally affected. OHCHR documented the case of a 58-year-old Ukrainian citizen with an amputated leg and a first-degree disability who was detained in inhuman conditions in Simferopol for more than three months before being transferred to the medical ward after his health had significantly deteriorated. He was unable to access an exercise yard, or a shower, remaining confined in his cell twenty-four hours a day, and had to ask a cellmate to help him to shower by pouring water on him while he sat on the toilet.112 Right to education in native language and right to maintain one’s identity, culture and tradition C. 103. OHCHR recalls the order delivered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 19 April 2017 in proceedings brought by Ukraine against the Russian Federation. 113 The court concluded that the Russia Federation must “[E]nsure the availability of education in the 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 26 OHCHR Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine, 16 November 2018 to 15 February 2019, paras. 99-103. Until 26 July for three crew members and until 24 July for the remaining 21. See International Tribunal of the Law on the Sea, Case Concerning the Detention of Three Ukrainian Naval Vessels (Ukraine V. Russian Federation), Request for the prescription of provisional measures, 25 May 2019, para. 124. While a public hearing of ITLOS took place during the reporting period (10 and 11 May), the Order on Provisional Measures was delivered outside the reporting period. Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Republic of Crimea, 2018, p. 33, http://www.crimea.gov.ru/app/11820. OHCHR interview, 19 March 2019. OHCHR interview, 20 March 2019. Application of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and of the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of racial discrimination, Ukraine v. Russian Federation; Request for the indication of provisional measures, Ukraine v. Russian Federation, General List No. 166, para. 106, 19 April 2017.