Kyiv: German MPs at risk of prosecution for illegally entering Crimea
The Ukrainian embassy to Germany has initiated criminal proceedings against several German MPs who have visited annexed Crimea illegally, Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk told Evropeyska Pravda news outlet in an interview.
According to him, Ukrainian legislation prescribes a prison sentence of up to eight years for illegal visitation of the annexed territories.
“The fact that you are MPs does not free you from responsibility. We must use conviction in absentia and other mechanisms in order to show Germany that it is a violation of Ukrainian legislation,” the ambassador emphasized.
According to Melnik, it is not only politicians who must be held accountable. Last year, the embassy filed a criminal case against Scooter lead singer H.P. Baxxter, who toured Crimea.
The ambassador admitted that the possibilities for truly punishing offenders are limited.
“Germany does not extradite its citizens, and in the German criminal code there is no equivalent offense,” Melnyk noted, adding that nevertheless the “creative process” to prosecute these people is still underway.
As of June 2018, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea identified more than 200 foreigners who had visited the annexed peninsula, thereby violating Ukrainian legislation.
Earlier, a group of MPs from the German party Alternative for Germany attended the Yalta Economic Forum in annexed Crimea. The forum was organized by the Russian government.
Russia is trying to legitimize its annexation of the peninsula by inviting foreign citizens to visit it.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry constantly urges foreigners and persons without citizenship to travel to Russian-annexed Crimea exclusively in compliance with the laws of Ukraine and the rules of international law.