The so-called court in Crimea resumed a trial in the so-called case of political prisoner Edem Bekirov

February 20, 2021

In the occupied Crimea, in the so-called Central District Court in absentia resumed a trial began in the so-called case of the former political prisoner Edem Bekirov, who was released on September 7 as part of an exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. This was reported by the Graty media agency.

It is noted that the prosecutor read out the indictment, and judge Aleksandr Demenok outlined the schedule of court sessions in March and April – at each of them the court expects to interrogate five witnesses.

“In fact, according to the logic of the state prosecution, the FSB officers helped him escape from the court when they took him from Crimea to Moscow, and then sent him to Kyiv as part of an exchange of prisoners”,- said lawyer Aleksei Ladin.

We remind that on December 12, 2018, while trying to enter the Crimea through Chonhar checkpoint, Ukrainian national and Crimean Tatar Edem Bekirov, born in 1961, a resident of Novooleksiivka village of the Kherson region,
was arrested by the Russian border guards. He was detained at around 08:30 while undergoing passport control procedures. Until the evening his location remained
unknown.

On December 13, the so-called Kyiv District Court of Simferopol arrested Edem Bekirov until February 11, 2019. On the December 20 the FSB charged him with illegal trafficking of weapons and the illegal transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carriage of explosives (Part 2 of Article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and Part 2 of Article 222.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

On June 6, 2019, the so-called Kyiv District Court of Simferopol once again extended his detention term until the 12 th of August.

On June 11, 2019, the European Court of Human Rights decided to urgently place Edem Bekirov in the hospital.

On July 10, 2019, the European Court of Human Rights issued a new decision considering Edem Bekirov, according to which independent and specialized doctors should conduct a medical examination and eventually prepare separate, detailed conclusions on each of his health problems.  

Edem Bekirov is one of the Crimean Tatar public activists of the village Novooleksiivka village. He is severely disabled. In January 2018, he underwent a complicated heart surgery, during which he had 4 shunts implanted. Moreover, the man is an amputee having his right leg removed below the knee and thus forced to wear a removable cast.