Prominent Crimean Tatar is sentenced in absentia
The Russian-controlled Supreme Court in Crimea has sentenced the owner of the ATR Crimean Tatar television channel, Lenur Islyamov, to 19 years in prison in absentia. The court in the Russia-annexed Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula found Mr. Islyamov guilty on December 10 of organizing sabotage, creating an illegal armed group, and publicly calling for Russia’s territorial integrity to be violated. He was sentenced the same day. Mr. Islyamov’s lawyer, Nikolai Polozov, told RFE/RL that his client does not recognize the court’s legitimacy and added that the court’s ruling will be appealed. Mr. Islyamov, who has resided in Kyiv since 2015, told RFE/RL earlier that he would not take part in the trial, and rejected the charges against him while calling the judicial process a mockery of justice. The occupying Russian authorities have refused to issue a broadcasting license to Mr. Islyamov’s ATR television channel after annexi