Seven Crimean collaborators receive suspicions

Ukrainian law enforcement officers have served suspicion notices to seven Russian MPs from the occupied Crimea.

This was reported by the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

According to the investigation, the defendants are citizens of Ukraine who ran for the so-called "Yevpatoria" and "Yalta City Councils of the III convocation" from the "United Russia" party. In their positions, the suspects implement the policy of the aggressor state and ensure the functioning of the occupation authorities on the peninsula.

ARC Prosecutor Ihor Ponochovnyi said that more than 3,800 criminal proceedings have been opened in Ukraine regarding war crimes and crimes against national security committed by Russians in Crimea. Ukrainian courts have already handed down about 200 verdicts in these cases, and another 580 cases are under consideration.

The Supreme Court of Simferopol upheld the lower court's decision to extend the arrest of four Crimean Tatars - members of the so-called Fourth Dzhankoy Group. Thus, they will remain in the pre-trial detention center at least until October 4.

According to the lawyer, the investigator and the prosecutor insisted on keeping them in custody, arguing that there were risks of escape and pressure on witnesses. At the same time, the defense considers these allegations to be unsubstantiated. The lawyer emphasized that his clients had no previous problems with the law and were strongly connected to Crimea by family and social ties.

At the end of June, Kyiv District Court had already extended the arrest of five defendants in the case - Rustem Mustafayev, Abibul Smedlyayev, Emir Kurtnezirov, Mirzali Tajibayev and Bakhtiyar Ablayev. The Supreme Court of Crimea partially overturned this decision, but after a retrial, four of them were again kept in custody until October.

Катерина Глушко