Ukraine opens proceedings over arrest of 21 activists in Simferopol

The Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol has launched criminal proceedings over the illegal arrest of 21 activists in Simferopol, the agency has reported on its website.

"Today [on October 26], due to the illegal imprisonment of Crimean Tatar activists in the occupied peninsula, criminal proceedings have been instituted under Part 2 of Article 146 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal imprisonment or kidnapping committed for selfish motives)," the report said.

The prosecutor's office recalled that on October 25, in Simferopol, outside the building of the "Crimean garrison military court," "security officers" illegally detained 21 Crimean residents who had gathered for an open court hearing to support Hizb ut-Tahrir case suspects.

"In the eighth year of the occupation of the peninsula, such detentions by the occupation authorities of the Russian Federation have become systemic and serve as a tool to intimidate the inhabitants of the peninsula," the prosecutor's office said.

The Main Directorate of the National Police in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea will conduct the pretrial investigation.

Photo: Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea