Political prisoner Kolomiyets returns to Ukraine after 10 years in Russian custody
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi announced this at a briefing on Friday, July 11, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
Tykhyi stated that on July 7, Russia deported Kolomiyets to a Georgian border crossing point. Kolomiyets, who had participated in the Euromaidan anti-government protests, was detained by Russia in Crimea on May 15, 2015. He was sentenced to ten years in prison by the so-called "Kyiv District Court of Simferopol" on politically motivated and fabricated charges.
After serving his full sentence, Kolomiyets was deported to the Russian-Georgian border.
Tykhyi noted that as soon as Ukraine's Embassy in Georgia was informed of his presence at the border crossing, consular officials immediately established contact with him. They discovered he lacked valid identity documents, which had expired during his ten-year imprisonment — this was the reason for his delay at the crossing. The embassy promptly assisted in issuing the necessary documents, Tykhyi said.
"Following that, the embassies of Ukraine in Georgia and Moldova coordinated Andriy Kolomiyets's entry into Georgia and onward travel to Moldova. I can now confirm that he is back on Ukrainian soil. He has returned home. We welcome him and extend our support to his family and loved ones who were anxiously awaiting his return," Tykhyi added.
On June 10, 2016, Kolomiyets was sentenced to ten years in a high-security prison on charges of attempting to murder two former officers of Ukraine's Berkut riot police during the Maidan protests in Kyiv.
Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office denied any evidence of Kolomiyets' involvement in attacks on Berkut officers. The Crimean Human Rights Group stated that the case was fabricated and politically motivated.
While in the Russian penal colony, Kolomiyets was repeatedly placed in solitary confinement on baseless grounds.
After his release, he was held at the Georgian border checkpoint due to expired documents resulting from his decade-long imprisonment.
Photo: facebook.com/crimeahrg
