Illegally convicted political prisoner from Kherson region re-imprisoned

The illegally convicted Ukrainian political prisoner Volodymyr Yakymenko from Kherson region was placed in a punishment isolation ward in a Russian colony.

This was reported to the Crimean Tatar Resource Center by his civilian wife Diana Tchaikovska.

This time, the term of his detention was five months with the possibility of further extension. According to his wife, Yakimenko has already spent almost a third of his time in Russian detention in a punishment cell.

Volodymyr Yakymenko has been in captivity for nine years, starting from June 11, 2017, when he was detained at the administrative border with the annexed Crimea and accused of drug trafficking, for which he was sentenced to 15.5 years in prison.

This regime led to a significant deterioration in the prisoner's health. He has constant headaches, stomach problems due to gastritis and ulcers, as well as pain in his bones and ribs after old fractures. In addition, neurological problems have begun, which may be the result of prolonged stay in the isolation ward. His relatives also reported that the occupiers constantly forced him to agree to Russian citizenship and change his documents, arguing that it was the illegal inclusion of the Kherson region in the Russian Federation.

Earlier, it became known that Crimean Tatar activist and former political prisoner <b>Edem Bekirov</b> died in a hospital in Istanbul after a long illness.

Edem Bekirov was one of the Kremlin's prisoners released as part of the first major exchange between Ukraine and Russia in 2019. His return home was a great victory, but his health condition remained serious as a result of his imprisonment and inadequate conditions in Crimea. Despite extensive treatment in Ukraine and abroad, the disease unfortunately took his life.

Earlier, it became known that as of May last year, the occupiers illegally imprisoned 218 people in Crimea, including 133 Crimean Tatars. Of the total number, 40 were arrested (including 29 Crimean Tatars), 150 were imprisoned (including 98 Crimean Tatars), and 28 were without status (including 6 Crimean Tatars).

Катерина Глушко