The District Administrative Court of Crimea on Wednesday ruled to expel former Crimean President Yuriy Meshkov from Ukraine, the press center of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has told Interfax-Ukraine.
"The District Administrative Court supported an SBU resolution to expel Meshkov from Ukrainian territory and restrict his entry for five years," the press center said.
During the court hearing, the SBU demanded that Meshkov be expelled from Ukraine due to the fact that he made statements indirectly calling for a change in Ukraine’s constitutional system.
An SBU representative said that the security service had not demanded that a criminal case be opened against the former Crimean president, because he did not call for a change in the constitutional system by violent means.
The SBU press center told Interfax-Ukraine that Articles 25 and 32 of the Ukrainian law on the status of foreigners and stateless persons were the legal grounds for the decision.
"Such a decision was taken, because, while staying in Ukraine, he [Meshkov] made statements that created the preconditions for committing illegal actions related to the infringement of the territorial integrity of the country and its constitutional system."
The SBU said that it had been obliged to lodge a lawsuit at the court, because Meshkov had refused to observe an SBU resolution on his expulsion from Ukraine voluntarily.
According to the court ruling, the verdict must be carried out immediately: Meshkov will be sent from the courtroom to airport, and will then leave Ukrainian territory. However, the press center did not specify whether Meshkov had already left Ukraine.
The defense lawyers of the former Crimean president have ten days to appeal against the court ruling.
Meshkov was elected Crimean president on January 30, 1994. Almost for the whole of his term in office, he was in conflict with the Crimean Supreme Council. In March 1995, the conflict escalated rapidly and nearly led to armed clashes. Kyiv intervened in the situation.
On March 17, 1995, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine cancelled the Crimean constitution and about 40 laws, including on the institution of the presidency in Crimea.
After that, Meshkov went to Moscow, where he lives until now and works as a professor at a Moscow university.
On July 2, 2011, Meshkov arrived in Crimea. He said that his arrival was prompted by the death of his former wife in May 2011.
At a press conference on July 7, he urged the holding of a referendum in the autonomy in order to restore the Crimean constitution of 1992, which in fact was the constitution of a sovereign state. He also stressed the need to change the government in Crimea.
Crimean Prime Minister Vasyl Dzharty said that such statements by Meshkov could serve as the reason to launch criminal proceedings against him.
