On May 26, 2022, the so-called employees of the Center for Combating Extremism detained lawyer Edem Semedlyaev in occupied Simferopol for posting on a social network in which he was tagged, and charged him with violating part 2 of article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (Public actions aimed at to discredit the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for the purpose of protecting the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens, maintaining international peace and security, or exercising their powers by state bodies of the Russian Federation for these purposes). On the same day, the so-called Kyiv District Court of Simferopol found him guilty and fined him 75,000 rubles.
After the completion of the so-called trial of Edem Semedliaiev, his lawyer Nazim Sheikhmambetov was detained. Subsequently, Nazim Shaimambetov was taken to the so-called main department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Crimea, where an administrative protocol was drawn up against him for violating Art. 20.2.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (Organization of mass simultaneous stay and (or) movement of citizens in public places that entailed a violation of public order) for the events of October 26, 2021. On May 27, 2022, the Central District Court of Simferopol appointed lawyer Nazim Sheikhmambetov 8 days of administrative arrest.
On May 27, 2022, lawyers Aider Azamatov and Emine Avamileva, who arrived to the so-called court to defend their colleague, lawyer Nazim Sheikhmambetov, were detained near the building of the so-called Central District Court of the city of Simferopol. They are accused of committing an administrative offense under part 1 of article 20.2.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (Organization of mass simultaneous stay and (or) movement of citizens in public places that entailed a violation of public order).
The Crimean Tatar Resource Center strongly condemns these illegal actions of the Russian security forces, which are a manifestation of the discriminatory policy of the occupation authorities towards the indigenous Crimean Tatar people, since all the detained lawyers are representatives of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people, and also actively protect the rights of political prisoners of Crimea.
The arrest and prosecution of an independent lawyer is a violation of both Ukrainian and Russian legislation on advocacy, as well as paragraph 16 of the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, adopted by the UN in 1990. These principles oblige governments not to prosecute and subject lawyers to judicial, administrative, economic or other sanctions for any act performed in accordance with recognized professional duties, norms and ethics, as well as the threat of such prosecution and sanctions.
The Crimean Tatar Resource Center demands the immediate release of lawyers and to refrain from further persecution of independent lawyers carrying out professional activities on the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea, as well as lawyers acting in the interests of political prisoners of Crimea on the territory of Russia.
The Crimean Tatar Resource Center demands from the President of Ukraine, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to impose sanctions against persons involved in the illegal prosecution of lawyers Edem Semedliaiev, Nazim Sheikhmambetov, Emine Avamileva and Aider Azamatov.
The Crimean Tatar Resource Center calls on the international community to increase pressure on the Russian Federation and the occupying authorities of Crimea in order to stop political persecution and persecution in connection with the professional activities of lawyers, as well as to apply personal sanctions against persons involved in human rights violations in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.