Former Crimean Minister of Justice Charged in Connection with the Deportation of a Ukrainian Citizen

The Security Service of Ukraine announced that it has charged Yevgeny Skisov —the so-called judge and former Minister of Justice of Crimea—with violating the laws and customs of war. He is implicated in the forced deportation of a Ukrainian citizen from the peninsula.

This is evidenced by the notice of suspicion issued by the Office of the Prosecutor General.

According to the investigation, after the occupation of Crimea, Skisov began working in the illegally established Russian judicial system. In November 2014, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, he was appointed to the position of so-called judge of the “Alushta City Court of the Republic of Crimea.”

Investigators believe that in November 2017, the judge presided over an administrative case involving Ukrainian citizen Oleksandr Syroizhko. The man was accused of violating Russian residency regulations due to a lack of documents confirming his right to reside in the Russian Federation.

However, Syroizhko was living in Crimea and was a citizen of Ukraine, and therefore was protected under international humanitarian law. 

Despite this, on November 7, 2017, Skisov found the Ukrainian man guilty. He was sentenced to a fine of 2,000 Russian rubles and deportation from the Crimean Peninsula, with placement in a special facility.

That same day, Russian law enforcement officers forcibly transported Syroizhko to a special detention center in the Rostov Region. According to the investigation, he was illegally detained there for about six months.

Subsequently, on April 25, 2018, he was forcibly deported through the “Milove” checkpoint in the Luhansk region to territory controlled by Ukraine. As a result, the man was forced to leave his place of permanent residence in occupied Crimea.

In June of last year, the judge was sentenced to 13 years in prison for treason.

According to the website Dovidka.com.ua, after serving as a judge in the Saki District Court and the Crimean Regional Court, Skisov held leadership positions in the judiciary, including serving as Crimea’s Minister of Justice from 1993 to 1994.

In 2000, he became a judge of the Alushta City Court, and in 2003, he became its presiding judge. After the occupation of Crimea, he continued to work within the illegally established Russian judicial system.

Also in August,a judge from Crimea, Nadiya Sobechanska, whobetrayed her oath and defected to the Russian Federation, was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Анна Літман