Crimean occupation court gives suspended sentence to ATR cameraman

Eskender Nebiyev, cameraman of the ATR Crimean channel, accused by the occupation authorities of involvement in riots near the Crimean parliament in February 2014, was charged with a 2.5-year suspended sentence.

This is reported by the RIA Novosti Russian news agency, referring to judge Yuri Hulevych.

“To pass the sentence of two years and six months in prison under Article 212 Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and to consider the sentence to be suspended under Article 73 of the Criminal Code,” the judge announced on Monday.

The media claim that the court took into account cooperation of the accused with the investigation and the fact that he admitted guilt in full.

Eskender Nebiyev was detained in April 2015 on charge of the event which had taken place before the peninsula had been occupied by Russian troops.

The ATR cameraman is the son of Bekir Nebiyeva, accused of shooting of medical workers at the ambulance station in Simferopol.

According to the agency, Nebiyev senior was found dead in woods near Simferopol on Saturday.

On Sunday, Prosecutor General of the occupation authorities Natalia Poklonska announced that Nebiyev had entered into an agreement with the investigation and admitted his guilt.

Chairman of the Kurultai CEC, Ayir Smedliayev believes that the ATR cameraman was arrested also because Nebiyev did not give false testimony against Akhtem Chiygoz, who has been staying in custody for more than eight months on charges of organizing scuffles during rally on February 26.

As known, February 26, 2014, the Russian forces organized the rally to make the Crimean parliament appeal to Vladimir Putin with the request to annex Crimea to Russia.

In response, the Crimean Tatars gathered even more people and forced pro-Russian activists off from the building of the Crimean parliament. As a result of clashes, two people were killed.

The Investigative Committee of Russia initiated proceedings over that fact. According to leader of the Crimean Tatar people Mustafa Dzhemilev, the actions of the occupation authorities in this case were absurd as the rally had taken place before Crimea was declared part of Russia.

According to Euromaidan SOS human rights volunteer initiative, at least five prisoners are being held now in the occupied Crimea for political reasons. They are defendants in the case of February 16 – Akhtem Chiygoz, Ali Asanov, Mustafa Dehermendzhy, Euromaidan activist Oleksandr Kostenko, owner of foreign languages private school ​​Yuri Ilchenko, as well as representatives of the “Hizb ut-Tahrir” movement.