The Russian police in Crimea issued another official warning to Crimean journalist and human rights activist Lutfiye Zudiyeva on 17 June, reminding her that actions that “create conditions for offenses to be committed” were unacceptable, Crimean Solidarity reports.
A Canköy department officer of the Russian police read the warning aloud to her near her home in Canköy. Zudiyeva herself believes it was issued in view of the upcoming Crimean Tatar Flag Day, which is celebrated annually on 26 June, as part of the traditional “preventive” measures the occupation authorities take ahead of remembrance dates and public rallies.
The document said that the police had received reports alleging Zudiyeva might take action that would facilitate a crime or administrative offense. The warning did not specify what was the action in question or what violations she was being accused of.
The warning cited the Russian laws “On the Fundamentals of the Crime Prevention System in the Russian Federation” and “On the Police”. It also said that if actions that the occupation authorities consider to be conducive to offenses are committed, the citizen may be held liable in accordance with Russian legislation.
Zudiyeva disagreed with the warning and left a written comment in the “document”.
“The Center for Combating Extremism calls such warnings a preventive measure, but in practice they have different uses. Over the years of working in human rights and journalism, I have seen many such documents, and most often they contain no specific description of the alleged violation. It seems that their purpose is to create a so-called chilling effect, when a person refrains even from legal actions — publishing, comments, or public activities — out of fear of future persecution,” Lutfiye Zudiyeva said.
This is not the first time that such action been taken against Zudiyeva. She has previously been handed similar warnings and faced administrative liability for her reporting. Human rights activists believe that the pressure on Zudiyeva is due to her coverage of topics related to the state of Crimean Tatars’ rights in occupied Crimea.
The Russian police have already visited Zudiyeva on 15 May 2026 to warn her of potential liability for holding “unauthorized rallies” on the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Crimean Tatar Genocide on 18 May.
Persecution of journalist Lutfiye Zudiyeva
In May 2025, the Russian Ministry of Justice added Zudiyeva to the “foreign agents” register. In a comment to IMI, Zudiyeva said that the news had not been unexpected to her as someone working to defend the people in Crimea.
In August 2025, Lutfiye Zudiyeva received a notice from the Russian Ministry of Justice summoning her for drawing up an administrative protocol. Zudiyeva was charged with violating the law on “foreign agents”. In September 2025, the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow upheld the decision by the Russian Ministry of Justice to declare Lutfiye Zudiyeva a “foreign agent”, and in December of the same year the Court of Appeal upheld that ruling.
On 22 February 2024, officers of Russia’s Center for Combating Extremism searched Lutfiye Zudieva’s house. After the search, she was taken away to the counter-extremism center, but later released.
The police opened an administrative case against her on charges of abuse of freedom of mass information. The investigation was triggered by her Facebook post about the unlawful persecution of alleged Hizb ut-Tahrir members, as she did not mention that Hizb ut-Tahrir is considered a terrorist organization by Russia, and also cited a Radio Liberty article without noting that the media outlet is considered a “foreign agent” by Russian law.
In March and April 2024, Russian-installed courts fined Zudiyeva, convicting her of “abusing the freedom of mass information.”
On 7 May 2024, Lutfiye Zudieva was handed a warning from the Russian Center for Combating Extremism.
In April 2026, the General Jurisdiction Cassation Court No. 2 in Moscow (Russia) dismissed a motion by Lutfiye Zudiyeva, who challenged her inclusion in the Russian “foreign agents” register.