Russian court sentences Crimean resident Prykhodko to five years in prison

"The Southern Military District Court in Rostov-on-Don found Crimean political prisoner Oleh Prykhodko guilty of storage of explosives and preparation for a terrorist attack and sentenced him to five years in a maximum security prison," the Crimean Solidarity reports.

On February 25, the Russian public prosecutor asked to sentence the activist to 11 years in a maximum security prison and a fine of 200,000 rubles.

For his part, Prykhodko said that he was "an ordinary Christian and a blacksmith who does not agree with the accession of Crimea to Russia, what he has always stated openly and publicly." It was his opinion, Prykhodko believes, that caused the "close attention of the secret services."

Oleg Prykhodko is 62 years old, he lives in the city of Saki in Crimea and works as a blacksmith and metal carver. He has never hidden his pro-Ukrainian position and publicly condemned Crimea's accession to Russia in 2014.

Police officers began to visit him and suggested removing a Ukrainian flag from his house and retracting his words. Oleg Prykhodko opposed such visits. Since 2016, he was summoned for numerous interrogations by the FSB, where he had absurd and absurd conversations about patriotism and nationalism. He was once fined in an administrative case after the confiscation of symbols, illegal in Russia, which he allegedly had promoted.

On October 9, 2019, security officers put Prykhodko in a car and held him in the FSB building all night, after which they took him to a search in his garage, where they found explosives. As a result, the Ukrainian activist was charged under the following articles of the Criminal Code: Part 1of Article 30 and Part 1 of Article 205 ("Preparations for act of terrorism"), Part 1 of Article 222 ("Illegal acquisition and storage of explosives") and Part 1 of Article 223-1 ("Illegal manufacture of explosives").

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