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Judge from Simferopol to be tried in Ukraine for illegal sentence imposed on dpty head of Mejlis of Crimean Tatar people
KYIV. Jan 26 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Kyiv based prosecutor’s office for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol sent a guilty verdict to the court against a former judge of the Simferopol District Court of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea on the fact of violating the laws and customs of war, he faces eight to twelve years in prison, the press service of the prosecutor’s office of the autonomy reported.
“The pretrial investigation established that the accused, holding the position of a ‘judge’ of the illegally created ‘Simferopol District Court of the Republic of Crimea,’ directly implemented the policy of the occupying state aimed at persecuting the pro-Ukrainian population of the peninsula,” a message released on Wednesday says.
It clarifies that in 2017, the “judge”, knowing for sure that, in accordance with the norms of international humanitarian law, only the norms of the national legislation of Ukraine have been operating on the peninsula since the occupation, illegally examined the “indictment” against the deputy chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people on the fact of his speech live on the Ukrainian TV channel ATR and allegedly calls for violation of the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation.
“When considering the ‘case’, the judge was illegally guided by the criminal and criminal procedure legislation of the Russian Federation. He also ignored a number of evidence that refuted the accusation, including the conclusions of an expert and a specialist, where it was noted that the specified publication ‘cannot contribute to the violation of the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation.’ These actions indicate the deprivation of the right of the deputy head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people to a fair trial, which is a serious violation of Article 64 of the Convention on the Protection of Civilians during the War of 1949,” the prosecutor’s office said.
They note that as a result, the “judge” illegally sentenced the deputy head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people to two years of imprisonment in a colony-settlement with a ban on engaging in public activities for two years.
“Earlier, as part of a special pretrial investigation, the prosecutor’s office for the autonomy sent to the court an indictment against the judge on the fact of high treason (Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). While he is under consideration in the Shevchenkivsky District Court of Kyiv,” the prosecutor’s office of the autonomy added.
As reported, on September 27, 2017, the Simferopol District Court issued a verdict in the Umerov case and sentenced him to two years in a penal colony.
Umerov’s lawyers insisted on an acquittal. The accused himself called the criminal case politically motivated and fabricated, stating that the translation of his public speech from Crimean Tatar into Russian, which formed the basis of the accusation, is not verbatim, the word “must” is added to the text.
On October 25, 2017, Umerov and Akhtem Chiygoz, sentenced to eight years in a strict regime colony, were transferred to Turkey, after which they arrived in Ukraine. They are exempt from criminal liability, but they are prohibited from living in Crimea, and therefore they started working in Kyiv.
On October 26 of the same year, the deputy chairmen of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people released from Russian imprisonment met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and thanked him for his efforts to release them, and also appealed to him to help other illegally persecuted, arrested and convicted in Crimea Crimean Tatars, Ukrainians, people of other nationalities.