The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its resolute protest to the Russian Federation regarding the unlawful sentencing of Rustem Emiruseinov, Arsen Abkhairov, Eskender Abdulganiev, all citizens of Ukraine, by the North Caucasian district military court on November 3 in Rostov-on-Don in yet another so-called “Hizb ut-Tahrir group" case.

The mentioned Ukrainian citizens were illegally detained in February 2019 following searchers in their homes in the village of Oktyabrskoe, Krasnogvardeisky District, the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The FSB of the Russian Federation accused them without any justification of the involvement in "terrorist activities" and transferred them to the territory of Russia to Rostov-on-Don in violation of the international law.  

Today's rulings sentencing Rustem Emiruseinov to 17 years of imprisonment, Arsen Abkhairov - to 13 years, Eskender Abdulganiev - to 12 years stand as another proof that the occupying power continues to use its "draconian" anti-terror legislation for systemic political persecution of Crimean Tatars as a tool to intimidate and suppress any manifestations of disloyalty to the occupation regime.

It is also outrageous that the Russian authorities have blocked the access to the court premises for relatives and friends of the illegally detained Ukrainian citizens, who sought to provide moral support to our compatriots during today’s verdict announcement.

The Russian Federation must cancel the court ruling and immediately release Rustem Emiruseinov, Arsen Abkhairov, Eskender Abdulganiev as well as all Ukrainian citizens illegally detained and kept by Russia.

Russia must stop committing blatant violations of human rights and implement the UN General Assembly Resolutions “Territorial integrity of Ukraine” of March 27, 2014 and “Situation of Human Rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine)” (2016-2019).

We call on international community to increase political, diplomatic and sanction pressure on the aggressor state to stop human rights violations by Russia in the temporarily occupied Crimea, to release all illegally detained Ukrainian citizens in the Russian Federation and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, as well as to achieve restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.