Any old charge will do in Russian-occupied Crimea when the target is a Crimean Tatar regional Mejlis leader. 69-year-old Ilver Ametov, a successful businessman and the Head of the Sudak Regional Mejlis, has already been subjected to three armed searches since Russia’s annexation of Crimea. He is now on trial, with a WWII weapon, which is clearly a part of Ametov’s collection of historical artefacts, being used as a pretext for criminal charges under Article 222 of Russia’s criminal code (illegal purchase, possession, etc of a firearm, its component parts or ammunition).
Russia's War Against Ukraine
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Halya Coynash: Crimean Tatar Regional Mejlis leader on trial for a museum exhibit WWII weapon
Armed men stand guard in front of the entrance of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people (the single highest executive-representative body of the Crimean Tatars) in Simferopol on September 16, 2014.
