Authorities in Moscow have listed 22 people who were born on Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula as "terrorists and extremists."
The list, published on July 12 by Russia's Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring), includes journalists, civil activists, and political prisoners who have criticized Moscow's occupation and illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.
Among those named is Mykola Semena, a contributor to a news site about Crimea that is run by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Semena has been charged by officials in Russia-annexed Crimea with using media to make separatist calls.
Also on the list is blogger Yuriy Ilchenko, who was recently arrested over an article condemning Russia’s seizure and annexation of Crimea.
The list also name several Ukrainian prisoners held in Russia – including Oleh Sentsov, Oleksandr Kolchenko, Oleksiy Chemiy, and the recently free Hennadiy Afanasyev.
Rosfinmonitoring was created by a decree from President Vladimir Putin and reports directly to the Russian president.
The United States, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and international media rights groups have all expressed concern about a clampdown on independent journalists and activists in the Russian-occupied territory.
