ATR TV Channel Owner Lenur Isliamov Sentenced in Crimea to 19 Years in Prison in Absentia

The so-called “Supreme Court” in the occupied Crimea sentenced Vice President of the World Congress of Crimean Tatars, owner of the ATR TV channel Lenur Isliamov, to 19 years in a high-security prison in absentia.

As reported, the “court” controlled by the occupying power also banned the defendant from participating in media activities for two years.

Isliamov’s lawyer, Nikolai Polozov, said that the defence team did not recognise the verdict and would appeal against it, including at the European Court of Human Rights. According to the lawyer, Isliamov does not recognise the jurisdiction of the “Supreme Court” because he considers Crimea to be a temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.

“Isliamov considers his indirect participation in the trial as a necessary preparatory stage aimed at gathering the necessary information about persons, who violate human rights in the occupied Crimea, and preparing relevant cases for international institutions, including the ECHR and the International Criminal Court,” Polozov posted on Facebook.

Isliamov is not under investigation by the occupying power as he lives on the mainland of Ukraine. In 2017, the occupation authorities of Crimea sold at auction four assets owned by Isliamov.

As a reminder, the Vice President of the World Congress of Crimean Tatars is charged under several articles of the Russian Criminal Code. In particular, the occupation authorities of Crimea accuse Isliamov of creating the Noman Çelebicihan Crimean Tatar Volunteer Battalion in the Kherson region, organising the “energy blockade of the peninsula” in 2015 and calling for separatism.

Isliamov’s lawyers reported that he denied his guilt.

Bohdan Marusyak