US Ambassador to the OSCE James Gilmore, during his speech at the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, expressed his condolences to the family of Ruslan Suleymanov, a defendant in the so-called second Hizb ut-Tahrir case in Simferopol, in connection with the death of his three-year-old son Musa. The USA condemned the fact that the political prisoner was not allowed to attend the funeral of his son.
“We express our condolences to the family of the Crimean Tatar civil journalist and political prisoner Ruslan Suleymanov, whose three-year-old son Musa recently passed away. we emphasize on the terrible conditions of imprisonment that Ukrainian political prisoners face”,- Gilmore said.
In addition, the US Ambassador emphasized the illegality of the order to the Archbishop of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Klyment to dismantle his only parish in Yevpatoriia within five days.
“If Archbishop Klyment fails to dismantle the parish, he can be prosecuted. This is a very big difference between the way Russia conducts its affairs there, and the way other OSCE countries conduct their business”,- he added.
The US also condemns Russia's use of accusations of terrorism and extremism against Crimean Tatars, Muslims and Jehovah's Witnesses for peacefully professing their faith. Freedom of expression, religion or belief, as well as peaceful assembly are punished as the occupation authorities increase control over the population.
Gilmore once again stressed that the United States supports Ukraine's sovereignty and will never recognize the annexation of Crimea by Russia. The Crimea-related sanctions will remain in effect until Russia returns full control of the peninsula to Ukraine.