Crimean Ex-Minister Sentenced to 13 Years for Treason and Propaganda

A Crimean ex-minister and former deputy of the Simferopol City Council was sentenced in absentia to 13 years in prison with confiscation of property for treason. He worked for the occupation authorities, promoted Russian propaganda and helped to adapt the peninsula's media space to Russian legislation.

This was reported by the press service of the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

During the trial , prosecutors proved that in June 2014, after the occupation of the peninsula, he was appointed to the position of the so-called "Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea - Minister of Internal Policy, Information and Communications" by order of the self-proclaimed "acting Head of the Republic of Crimea" Sergey Aksyonov. The defendant held this position until 2018.

In this position, he took an active part in the implementation and standardization of the information policy of Crimea in accordance with the requirements of the aggressor country.

PHOTO: Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea

His activities covered the areas of mass communications, broadcasting, publishing and postal services, which were aimed at promoting Russian narratives and displacing the Ukrainian information space.

In addition, the convict ensured the implementation of the decisions of the occupation administration aimed at the full adaptation of the Crimean media field to the legislation of the Russian Federation, and actively contributed to the spread of Russian propaganda. He assisted the representatives of the aggressor state in carrying out subversive activities against Ukraine, thus harming national security.

The court found him guilty of treason under part one of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

In early April, the Security Service of Ukraine served a notice of suspicion to the former "minister" of culture of the temporarily occupied Crimea. According to the investigation, she facilitated the introduction of Russian propaganda into the cultural space of the peninsula, participated in the creation of propaganda programs and the organization of mass events glorifying Russia's military aggression.

In addition, another suspect, a former employee of the Crimean SBU office, was also notified of suspicion. He was accused of collaboration and cooperation with the FSB, in particular, of participating in an illegal armed group that was engaged in repressions in the temporarily occupied territory of Kherson region.

Анна Бальчінос