The Russian Ministry of Justice has added Zedin Acikeliamov and Ruslan Paralamov, two Crimea-based citizen journalists covering political persecution for the human rights movement Crimean Solidarity, to the list of “foreign agent associates”, ZMINA reports, citing the Russian agency’s website.
Russia’s register of “foreign agent associates” includes individuals whom the Russian Ministry of Justice believes to be affiliated with the work of organisations or initiatives on the “foreign agents” list. Crimean Solidarity, which supports victims of political repression in the occupied Crimea, was recently assigned “foreign agent” status.
ZMINA reports that the legal criteria for such a designation are vague and decisions are made at the ministry’s discretion, leading to both active and former employees, as well as persons who have interacted with such organisations in the past, being added to the list.
Zedin Acikeliamov has been a citizen journalist since 2017, working with Crimean Solidarity to cover police raids, detentions, and trials targeting Crimean Tatar political prisoners after the occupation of Crimea. He has repeatedly been persecuted for his work: his home has been searched, he has been detained, fined, and surveilled. The journalist stresses that the Russian media’s control over the information environment in Crimea makes independent coverage of events crucial.
Ruslan Paralamov joined Crimean Solidarity in 2017 and covers politically motivated trials and persecution of Crimean Tatars. In October 2021, he, Zedin Acikeliamov, and one more journalist were detained by Russian security forces while covering an appeal hearing in the case of several Crimean Tatar political prisoners. Despite having an editorial assignment, the journalists were taken to a police station and held in a temporary detention center overnight.
As previously reported, Russia’s Ministry of Justice added Crimean human rights activist, Graty contributor Lutfiye Zudiyeva to the “foreign agents” list in 2025.
