Ukraine's Foreign Ministry demands that the Russian Federation overturn sentences of four Crimean Tatars who were convicted by a Russian court and calls on the international community to continue pressure on Moscow to immediately stop human rights violations.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Sept. 7 to expresses its strong protest over a ruling by the North Caucasus District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don, which illegally sentenced citizens of Ukraine Ferat Saifullayev, Rustem Vaitov and Nuri Primov to five years in prison and Ruslan Zeitullayev to seven years in prison. They were unlawfully arrested in Crimea early in 2015.
“The trial of the mentioned citizens of Ukraine is a clear sign of ongoing repression by the Russian occupying authorities against the Crimean Tatar people,” the statement said.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stressed that the court had ignored the evidence provided by the defense proving that the individuals were not involved in terrorist activities, implementation or organization of any act of terrorism.
“We strongly condemn the judicial farce organized by the Russian authorities and demand that the Russian Federation overturn the sentences without delay. We also urge the international community to continue pressure on Moscow to immediately stop large-scale violations of human rights and release all political prisoners and illegally detained Ukrainian citizens,” the ministry said.
The North Caucasus District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don on September 7 passed a guilty verdict on the four Crimean Tatars accused of ties with the Hizb-ut-Tahrir organization.
All the convicts will serve time in a general penitentiary.
