The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its resolute protest over the illegal decision of the Russian occupying “court” in Simferopol city to sentence citizens of Ukraine Ruslan Trubach, Bekir Dehermendzhy and Kiazym Ametov to 3 years, and Asan Chapukh to 3.5 years of suspended sentence as a result of fabricated case on money extortion.
Our fellow citizens were detained by the Russian forces in November 2017 for “money extortion” from a citizen of Turkey that had stolen from the veteran of the Crimean Tatar national movement Vedzhye Kashka. The actions of the Russian forces during the search and arrest led to Vedzhye Kashka’ death.
The fabricated “case of Vedzhye Kashka” became one of the symbols of shame of the Russian occupation "justice". Notwithstanding that all the arrested, the elderly people, had serious health issues, for a long time no adequate medical assistance was provided to them. Consequently, in couple of weeks after the arrest, Bekir Dehermendzhy was in coma for three days. While under arrest, Asan Chapukh suffered a ministroke.
The MFA also condemns new punitive actions of the Russian occupants under the guise of investigation of the so-called “Hizb ut-Tahrir case”. In such a way, on 17 April 2019 the Crimean Tatar activist Raim Aivazov was detained on the “Kalanchak” checkpoint of entry-exit. We demand the immediate release of R.Aivazov and other Crimean Tatars, who are kept in Russian prisons under the “Hizb ut-Tahrir” fabricated case.
Ukraine stresses that the Russian Federation must end the violation of the human rights on the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, release immediately all illegally detained citizens of Ukraine, ensure its full compliance with obligations of an occupying state according to the international law, and implement to their full the resolutions of the UN General Assembly “Territorial integrity of Ukraine” of 27 March 2014, “Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine)" of 19 December 2016, 19 December 2017 and 22 December 2018, and as well as the order of the International Court of Justice regarding provisional measures in the in the case of Ukraine vs Russia regarding the application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
We call on the international community to increase the pressure on Russia in order to eliminate the violation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Crimea, to release all illegally detained citizens of Ukraine and to speed-up the de-occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.