The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine strongly condemns the shameful decision of the puppet appeals court of the Russian Federation to uphold the sentence of Ukrainian citizens who were illegally imprisoned by the Russian occupation administration in Crimea.

On 9 February, the so-called «appeals court» approved the decision of the first instance in the criminal case of the so-called "third Bakhchysarai group" Hizb ut-Tahrir. Thus, the sentences to Amet Suleymanov, Seytumer and Osman Seytumerov, and Rustem Seytmemetov remained in force.

Citizen journalist Amet Suleymanov was actually sentenced to death by the Russian occupation administration because he has a disability, suffers from heart disease and needs an urgent heart valve replacement.

Together with him, a whole family was sentenced to long prison terms - brothers Seytumer and Osman Seytumerov, who were sentenced to 17 and 14 years in prison, and their uncle Rustem Seytmemetov, who received 13 years of strict regime in the colony.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine draws attention to the systematic increasing of repressions in the temporary occupied Crimea and the increase in illegal sentences against citizens of Ukraine.

We call on the international community and partners of Ukraine, including the International Crimea Platform, to continue to put pressure on Russia in order to immediately release all illegally imprisoned Ukrainian citizens and to introduce sanction restrictions on officials involved in the persecution of Ukrainian citizens.