The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) joins the international community in condemning the sentencing of Crimean Tatar leader Akhtem Chiygoz to eight years imprisonment for supporting the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Akhtem Chiygoz, the Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis, the Crimean Tatar assembly that was outlawed by the Russian Federation after it illegally occupied and seized control of Crimea, was sentenced on 11 September 2017 by a court in Simferopol which found him guilty of “organizing an illegal demonstration” there in February 2014.
The international community, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and human rights organizations such Amnesty International, have called for the release of Akhtem Chiygoz.
“The Ukrainian World Congress calls upon the international community, including human rights organizations, to intensify efforts to secure the release of all political prisoners unlawfully detained by the Russian Federation either on territories it has illegally occupied, or in the Russian Federation itself,” stated UWC President Eugene Czolij.
