MFA outraged because of the persecution of Ukrainian believers in Crimea by Russian occupiers

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine strongly protests against the sentences of the Russian occupation "courts "in Crimea handed down to Ukrainian citizens Serhiy Filatov and Artem Gerasymov on charges of "organizing activities of an extremist organization".

In violation of its international legal obligations, Russia, as an occupying state, continues to abuse its legislation in the occupied territory of Crimea to persecute Ukrainian citizens on religious grounds. It is reported by the Government portal.

So, on March 5, 2020, the Russian-controlled "Dzhankoy district court" sentenced Serhiy Filatov to 6 years in prison, and the so-called "Yalta city court" decided to impose a fine on Artem Gerasymov in the amount of RUR 400. The reason for the persecution was named as belonging of both Ukrainian citizens to the religious organization "Jehovah's Witnesses", which legally operates on the territory of Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula.

The Ministry of foreign Affairs of Ukraine requires the Russian Federation to stop criminal prosecution of Ukrainian citizens on baseless charges on religious grounds. "We call on the international community to pay attention to illegal decisions of Russian courts against Ukrainian citizens and to increase political and diplomatic pressure on the aggressor state in order to stop Russia's violations of human rights on the territory of temporarily occupied Crimea and restore Ukraine's territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders," the government said.