“Court” in Crimea recognizes the truth as “untrue evidence”

The “Kyivskyi District Court” of Simferopol has considered the case of “administrative offense” against the editor of the independent Crimean Tatar newspaper, Kyrym, Bekir Mamutov. A russian-controlled court fined Bekir Mamutov RUB 100,000.

Judge Yanina Okhota found him guilty of public actions “aimed at discrediting the russian army” for publishing an interview with one of the Crimean Tatar activists about the mobilization in Crimea in 2022.

At the same time, the court violated the principles of transparency and openness of judicial proceedings. The listeners could not get to the meeting, as restrictions on visiting the court were imposed due to “anti-terrorist security measures.” The hearing itself took about 20 minutes, which raises doubts about the objective and comprehensive consideration of this case.

On May 17 in Crimea, russian security forces searched the residence of the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Bekir Mamutov, and the newspaper’s founder, Seyran Ibragimov. Two protocols were drawn up on “discrediting the russian army and spreading unreliable information under the guise of reliable information” for publications on the newspaper’s website. The Kyrym newspaper has been published in the Crimean Tatar language since July 1989. It is one of the first publications in this language after the return of the Crimean Tatars to Crimea. The Information Service of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) reported this earlier.

In another session, the Kyiv District Court of Simferopol also found the Crimean Tatar newspaper Kyrym, a legal entity, guilty of “discrediting the russian army” for publishing a text about the partial mobilization in Crimea in September 2022, when a large number of Crimean Tatars were conscripted into the russian army. The court saw in the publication signs of discrediting the russian army in connection with the publication of allegedly implausible information. It determined the punishment in the form of an administrative fine in the amount of RUB 300,000.

NUJU Information Service