The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its resolute protest regarding the unlawful sentencing of Marlen Asanov, Memet Belialov, Server Zekiriaiev, Timur Ibrahimov, Server Mustafaiev, Seyran Saliiev and Edem Smailov, all citizens of Ukraine, by the South Caucasian district military court of the Russian Federation on 16 September 2020 in the case of “The Second Backhisaray Hizb ut-Tahrir Group”.
All the above mentioned Ukrainian citizens were illegally detained in the territory of the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea, charged under Article 205.5 of the Penal Code of the Russian Federation “Organization of and participation in terrorist activities” and in violation of the norms of the international law, unlawfully transferred to the territory of Russia, the city of Rostov-on-Don. The pre-trial investigation and the trial were conducted with numerous procedural violations. All the proofs presented by the defence that demonstrated unsubstantiated nature of the charges were completely ignored. The final point of this shameful trial was today’s verdict sentencing
M. Belialov to 18 years, M. Asanov to 19 years, T. Ibrahimov to 17 years, S. Saliiev to 16 years, S. Mustafaiev to 14 years, E. Smailov to 13 years, S. Zekiriaiev to 13 years of imprisonment.
Shocking terms of imprisonment on blatantly fabricated charges of terrorist activities is a clear demonstration of the occupying state’s use of its anti-terror legislation as a cover up for its systemic political reprisals and religious discrimination against representatives of the Crimean Tatar people in order to intimidate and suppress any disloyal civil activity and initiatives in the temporarily occupied Crimean peninsula.
The courage and the principled position of our citizens in upholding their innocence during the travesty trial deserve special recognition.
The Russian Federation must cancel the court verdict and immediately release Marlen Asanov, Memet Belialov, Server Zekiriaiev, Timur Ibrahimov, Server Mustafaiev, Seyran Saliiev and Edem Smailov along with all Ukrainian citizens illegally detained by Russia.
We call on the international community to respond to such a shameful decision of the occupying state, to resolutely condemn the use by the Russian Federation of illegal practice of prosecuting dissents, to demand that Russia stop violating international law, including humanitarian and human rights law, in the territories of Ukraine occupied by it, to continue active engagement in protecting rights and freedoms of the residents of the Crimean peninsula using both national and international mechanisms and to increase pressure on the Russian Federation, including through sanctions.