Deputy Head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People sentenced to two years in prison
The Simferopol District Court, which is under the control of the Russian authorities, found Ilmi Umerov, deputy head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, guilty of calls for separatism and sentenced him to two years in prison in a colony settlement, reported his attorney Mark Feygin.
The prosecutor’s office asked that Umerov be given a three-and-a-half-year suspended sentenced.
Umerov was arrested in Simferopol on May 12, 2016. An hour before his arrest, he posted information on his Facebook page about the detention by Russian security forces of Crimean Tatars in Bakhchysarai on suspicion of alleged involvement in the organization of Hizb ut-Tahrir.
The case against Umerov is based on a video recording of a speech he made in Kyiv on March 19, 2016, where he made several statements expressing his belief that Russia must withdraw from the Crimea.
Umerov is accused of violating Part 2 of Article 280.1 of the Criminal Code (public calls for separatism on television or on the Internet).