The occupying "supreme court" of Crimea sentenced the deputy chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Nariman Dzhelal, to 17 years of imprisonment. This was announced by the head of the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol Ihor Ponochevny on Facebook.
"Today, September 21, 2022, the occupying Supreme Court of Crimea passed another illegal sentence, this time to the Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Nariman Dzhelal, as well as Asan and Aziz Akhtemov. Citizens of Ukraine were accused of committing "sabotage" on the territory of occupied Crimea and sentenced. Nariman Dzhelal to 17 years of imprisonment, Asan Akhtemov to 15 years of imprisonment, Aziz Akhtemov to 13 years of imprisonment," Ponochevny reported.
He noted that in fact the law enforcement and judicial systems in Crimea are a single "repressive machine" whose purpose is only to harass and intimidate the civilian population of the peninsula, including the indigenous Crimean Tatar people.
"All those who take a pro-Ukrainian position, citizens who have not come to terms with the occupation, lawlessness and terror on the peninsula fall under its "wheels". It is significant that Nariman Dzhelal was detained last year immediately after participating in the "Crimean Platform" summit. The detention is related to his public and political activities, coverage of the crimes of the occupiers, freedom of speech and the fight for human rights," Ponochevny wrote.
He informed that all the facts of crimes committed by Russia and its occupation administration in Crimea, including against the Crimean Tatars, are recorded in criminal proceedings by the Prosecutor's Office of the ARC and the city of Sevastopol.
On September 4, 2021, it became known that Russian security forces had searched the Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis, journalist and political scientist Nariman Dzhelyalov. The Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea opened criminal proceedings for illegal searches and detention of Nariman Dzhelyalov.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine strongly condemned the illegal detentions and linked Dzhelyalov's detention to his participation in the "Crimean Platform" summit.