Police free all Crimean Tatars detained in Moscow

12.07.2019 12:10

Ukrinform

Several dozen Crimean Tatar activists, who had been arrested on Thursday in Moscow for holding a rally near the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, were freed at night.

The activists were freed after the police had drawn up the reports under the article on violations of the procedure for holding public events. The activists now face the fines from RUR 10,000 to RUR 20,000, the Crimean Solidarity movement reports.

"All detained Crimean Tatars have left the offices of the Meshchansky and the Tagansky district departments of internal affairs. They are charged under Part 5 of Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation with the imposition of a fine ranging from RUR 10,000 to RUR 20,000," the statement reads.

As reported, on July 11, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation considered the appeal against the conviction of four Crimean Tatars in the “Hizb ut-Tahrir case”: Enver Mamutov, Rustem Abiltarov, Zevri Abseitov and Remzi Memetov. A rally in support of convicts was held near the court. Human rights activists, public figures and activists of the Strategy-18 civic movement came to support political prisoners. About 50 protesters (all of whom were Crimean Tatars) were detained by the police.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine lodged its resolute protest over the detention of 45 Crimean Tatars near the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in Moscow. As noted, the crackdown on the picket of Crimean Tatars near the Kremlin on July 10, and the groundless detention of activists on July 11 once again demonstrated the invariability of the repressive policy of the Russian Federation towards the Crimean Tatars aimed at ousting the Crimean Tatar people from the temporarily occupied peninsula.

“The ruling of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation concerning the appeal against the judgment of the North-Caucasus District Military Court in the ‘Hizb ut-Tahrir case’, which reduces the term of imprisonment of illegally detained Ukrainian citizens by several months, is a cynical mockery of Ukrainian political prisoners. It once again confirms the absence of a fair and independent legal procedure in the Russian Federation," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine declared.