Crimea, 5am

5 a.m. is the time when dark forces (FSS or other law enforcement agencies) can come to the house where everyone sleeps, turn everything upside down and take a father, son or husband to prison. And while our compatriots are behind bars on far-fetched charges, we want to tell their stories, because behind every political prisoner there is an important, interesting and exciting human fate.

— Alim Aliyev, Project Curator

“Crimea 5 am” is an international project dedicated to political prisoners. Its purpose is to draw the attention of Ukrainian and international society to human rights violations in the temporarily occupied Crimean peninsula. Since 2014, civil activists and in particular representatives of the indigenous people of Crimea – Crimean Tatars have been persecuted by the occupation regime. We know about these events, but we have little information about the prisoners themselves, their families and life in Crimea under occupation. The lack of such information does not allow us to really sympathize and feel their fates, act in favor of their interests, protection and liberation. That’s why the Ukrainian Institute together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine initiated the project “Crimea 5 am” within the activity of the Crimean Platform so as many people as possible could learn stories of political prisoners and their families and in general get an idea of life of Crimean Tatars in conditions of occupation.

The project consists of three main components: a documentary performance by Dmytro Kostyuminsky based on the play by Natalya Vorozhbit and Anastasia Kosodiy, a book about the project and its heroes, and an information campaign with the participation of Ukrainian and foreign celebrities.

The project is implemented by ITC Dolmen at the initiative of the Ukrainian Institute and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

The project is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).