~Russia illegally detains 25,000 Kremlin prisoners

~Russia illegally detains 25,000 Kremlin prisoners

According to the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, this is the number of civilians abducted by the Russian Federation.

The ZMINA Human Rights Centre has found that at least 21 prisoners require urgent medical care and may die unless they receive it. 

During the full-scale invasion, the National Police began investigating the enforced disappearance of 8,800 people. Russian Children's Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova claims Russia has illegally abducted over 700,000 children from Ukraine.

The Media Initiative for Human Rights has identified about one hundred places where abducted civilians are held.

The Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Qırım) confirms 209 illegally imprisoned Ukrainian citizens, 126 of whom are Qırımtatarlar.

During the full-scale war, 3,035 Ukrainian citizens were returned to Ukraine, including 150 civilians.

Activists from Bağçasaray (Bakhchysarai) arrested in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case are to remain in a pre-trial detention centre until April 22

The so-called Supreme Court of Qırım has considered an appeal in the case of the fifth "Bakhchisarai group" of Hizb ut-Tahrir. Eldar Yakubov, Remzi Nimetullaiev, Ametkhan Umerov, Seidamet Mustafaiev and Ruslan Asanov will remain in custody in the pre-trial detention centre until April 22 this year.

This was reported by Crimean Solidarity. 

At the trial, the lawyers found out that their clients had not been given copies of the complaints, so they could not read the documents in advance. Both the defence and the prosecution insisted that the hearing be postponed. But the judge refused to hold it later. 

Political prisoner Ametkhan Umerov asked for an interpreter. He has been insisting on this since the beginning of the criminal investigation. He was not provided with an interpreter. They refused to provide him with an interpreter even now during the hearing. 

Lawyer Emil Kurbedinov, who represents Abdulmejit Seytumerov, pointed to violations in the judicial process. The first court session was held privately. The defendants themselves were not even brought to it — they spoke via video link. Also, the audience was not allowed to participate in the trial.

It will be recalled that on August 24, at four in the morning, Russian FSB officers broke into the houses of six Qırımtatarlar — Seidamet Mustafaiev, Eldar Yakubov, Abdulmejit Seitumerov, Ruslan Asanov, Ametkhan Umerov and Remzi Nimetulaiev.

The five men are civilian activists and have children. Abdulmejit is the brother of two political prisoners from  Bağçasaray, Osman and Seitumer Seitumerov, who were arrested in March 2020 and sentenced to 17 and 14 years in prison.

All six activists from Bağçasaray were repeatedly detained during rallies in support of other arrested Qırımtatarlar.

Russian Investigative Committee completes "investigation" into a resident of temporarily occupied Sievierodonetsk who allegedly provided information about Russian positions to the Ukrainian Armed Forces

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has completed an "investigation" into the case of a resident of the temporarily occupied Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk region, who allegedly provided the Armed Forces of Ukraine with information about Russian positions.

This is stated in the Telegram channel of the Investigative Committee of Russia.

The resident of Sievierodonetsk allegedly informed the Armed Forces of Ukraine about the location of the Russian military for a financial reward. 

The Russians claim that the man met with the Ukrainian military on several occasions between May and June 2022.

The so-called "suspect" pleaded "guilty". The case is now to be considered by a "court". 

The Court of Appeal in Russia did not change the verdict for Crimean Solidarity activists

The Military Court of Appeal in Vlasys, Russia, did not change the sentence of five activists of the "second Simferopol group" convicted in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case.

This was reported by Crimean Solidarity. 

Enver Ametov, Osman Arifmemetov, Ruslan Suleimanov, Rustem Sheikhaliev and Yashar Muiedinov will be transferred first to prisons and then to a strict regime colony in the territory of the Russian Federation. On November 24, 2022, the Southern District Military Court sentenced them to 13 and 14 years in prison.

The defence tried to prove the groundlessness of the charges. The witnesses in the case, who gave evidence under pseudonyms, did not actually know the defendants. The court did not take into account the defence's arguments.

It will be recalled that on March 27, 2019, the most massive searches of Crimean Tatars' homes took place simultaneously in the Kamianka and Strohanivka districts of Aqmescit (Simferopol). Due to the huge volume of materials, law enforcement officers unprecedentedly divided the criminal case of 25 participants into five groups of defendants. Almost all of the detainees were citizen journalists or civic activists.

On November 24, 2022, Chief Judge of the Southern District Military Court Viacheslav Korsakov, together with judges Denis Galkin and Igor Shendrikov, found Crimean Tatar activists, including Ruslan Suleimanov, guilty of terrorist activities and attempted seizure of power. Enver Ametov and Yashar Muedinov were sentenced to 13 years in a strict regime colony, and civilian journalists Ruslan Suleimanov, Rustem Sheikhaliev and Osman Arifmemetov - to 14 years. The political prisoners will spend four years of their sentences in prison, and then another year will be restricted in their freedom of movement. 

The defendants did not plead guilty. They consider their prosecution to be political.

The so-called "court of the DPR" illegally "sentenced" a serviceman of the 36th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to 26 years in prison

The so-called court of the "DPR" illegally "sentenced" Sabir Romanovich, a serviceman of the 36th Marine Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, to 26 years in prison.

This was reported on the Telegram channel of the Russian Investigative Committee.

Russians accuse Sabir Romanovich of allegedly "opening fire" on three civilians in Mariupol.  

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Sabir Romanovych has been missing since April 12, 2022. 

It will be recalled that under international law, such trials of prisoners of war are considered a war crime. 

Russian court illegally sentences Azov serviceman to life imprisonment 

In Russia, a court has illegally sentenced Renat Aliiev, a serviceman of the Azov National Guard Brigade, to life imprisonment.

This was reported on the Telegram channel of the Russian Investigative Committee.

The Russians accuse the soldier of allegedly ordering his soldiers to "shoot civilians" in Mariupol. 

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Renat Aliiev has been missing since May 20, 2022.

Such trials of prisoners of war are considered a war crime under international law.