Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine strongly protests against the pressure exerted by the representatives of the migration service of the Russian Federation in the Chechen Republic on the defence witnesses in the case against Ukrainian citizens Mykola Karpyuk and Stanislav Klykh, illegally detained by Russian authorities.

On 24 March this year officers of the Russian migration service without reasonable grounds arrived at the premiseі where witnesses in the case of Mykola Karpyuk and Stanislav Klykh are temporarily accommodated and drew up a protocol on alleged violation of a period of stay in the territory of Russia, allowed by legislation.

Given the absence of the evidence of violation of Russian migration laws by Ukrainian citizens, we consider such actions of the Russian side as pressure on defence witnesses by judicial authorities and local officials aimed to hamper their participation in the trial.

The attempts of the Russian authorities to hinder the objective consideration of the case of illegally detained Mykola Karpyuk and Stanislav Klykh by all means demonstrates its trumped-up and political nature, which is true also about the cases against other citizens of Ukraine – political prisoners of the Russian Federation.

We demand that Russian authorities ensure safe stay in and movement through the territory of Russian Federation for relatives and witnesses in cases against illegally detained citizens of Ukraine.