Russia at war with lawyers: 13 political prisoners, including citizen journalists, remain without protection in Crimea

According to the Crimea-SOS [Krym-SOS] human rights organization, 13 victims of political persecution in Crimea, including citizen journalists, may be left without legal protection due to the revocation of the licenses of lawyers Lilia Gemedzhi and Rustem Kiamilev.

Russia has long tried to persecute lawyers who have the courage to defend Crimeans in legal proceedings, whom Russia persecutes for political reasons. Thus, Emil Kurbedinov and Edem Semedliayev were previously sentenced to different terms of administrative arrest. Cases were brought against them for Internet publications that did not violate any laws. That is why lawyers have become victims of political repression in the world’s only dictatorial Russia. However, when administrative arrests did not happen, Russian investigators began to look for new ways to influence professional lawyers.

“At the time of the deprivation of licenses, Lilia Gemedzhi defended eleven victims of political repression in Crimea, and Rustem Kiamilev – two. Therefore, thirteen Crimean political prisoners may remain without proper legal protection,” says Yevhen Yaroshenko, an analyst at Crimea-SOS.

On April 14, it became known that the Russian-controlled Bar Association of Crimea revoked the licenses of Lilia Gemedzhi and Rustem Kiamilev. The representation of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea stated that this happened when Gemedzhi and Kiamilev tried to register with the Crimean Bar Association. The reason is that they deal with the cases of political prisoners in the annexed Crimea.

The lawyers tried to challenge the refusal to admit them to the chamber in court, but the chamber filed a lawsuit to revoke their licenses. Now Lilia Gemedzhi and Rustem Kiamilev cannot defend their clients in criminal cases or represent their interests during pre-trial investigations and in courts.

NUJU Information Service