This is not an exchange

Why Russia freed and transferred to Turkey Akhtem Chiygoz and Ilmi Umarov

Russia released and transferred to Turkey the deputy chairman of the extremist organization, the Majlis of the Crimean Tatar people Ilmi Umarov and Akhtem Chiygoz. Both were convicted in Crimea, both were citizens of Ukraine. Why were they handed over to Ankara, not Kyiv? And what is the benefit of Moscow?

On October 25, lawyer Nikolai Polozov issued a sensation on Facebook: “Two Ukrainian political prisoners gained freedom. Akhtem Chiygoz and Ilmi Umarov are exempted from criminal prosecution. ” Polozova’s colleague Mark Feigin clarified: liberated leaders of the Crimean Tatars fly to Ankara.

According to the General Director of the Crimean Tatar television channel, ATR Lenur Islyamov, Umarov and Chiygoz in the morning of October 25 were delivered to the Simferopol Airport on different cars, and Umarov was brought from the Bakhchisarai hospital, where he got on October 20, by ambulance. Further, both prisoners were put on a government side, which first landed in Anapa, and then headed for the capital of Turkey.

“The liberation of Ilmi Umarov and Akhtem Chiygoz is the result of a whole set of works carried out both in the legal plane and on the political and diplomatic lines,” Nikolai Polozov told Novaya Gazeta. - As you know, over the past month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Peter Poroshenko and Vladimir Putin.

According to Polozov, who defended Akhtem Chiygoz in the Crimean court, the mechanism of the liberation of the Crimean prisoners "can be best explained in the Kremlin." At the same time, the lawyer emphasized that neither Chiygoz nor Umarov wrote any petitions about pardon.

The fact that the deputy chairman recognized by extremist Medzhlis was pardoned by the President of the Russian Federation confirmed the State Duma deputy from Crimea Ruslan Balbek. According to him, the corresponding petition to the name of Vladimir Putin was filed by the mufti of Crimea Emirali Ablaev.

In the Crimean Mufti of Novaya Gazeta itself, the fact of Ablaev’s appeal to the president was confirmed. “The appeal was written immediately after the sentencing Ilmi Umarov in September this year,” the press service of the muftiyat said. When asked why Umarov and Chitzgoz were sent to Turkey, they replied in the mufti that "it was their personal wish."

However, not everyone agrees with the version that the president had pardoned the Crimean political prisoners due to a letter of the mufti.

- The Mufti of Crimea and his assistants had more than one opportunity to turn to the Russian president with a request to free Ilmi Umarov and Akhtem Chiygoz. They could even do this personally, but did not do it, but on the contrary - at meetings with the president they emphasized that there was no problem with political prisoners in Crimea, ”says Crimean Tatar activist Nariman Jelal. - And now to say that liberation occurred thanks to mufti is an attempt to put the liberation of Umarov and Chiygoz in the merit of Moscow. Although it is quite obvious that what happened is the result of international pressure and negotiations with the participation of the President of Turkey. What the Russian authorities will receive from this is a question that remains unanswered.

They do not know what is the benefit of Moscow from the liberation of Ilmi Umarov and Akhtem Chiygoz, and high -ranking Ukrainian officials.

- We know for sure that this is not an exchange. That is, on the opposite route, no one will go to Russia, ”Novaya Gazeta, Deputy Minister of Information Policy of Ukraine Emine Jeeppar, told Novaya Gazeta. - We also know for sure that the question of the liberation of the Crimean political prisoners rose Peter Poroshenko during negotiations with Turkish President Recep Erdogan. And Erdogan, who over the past month held negotiations with both Poroshenko and Putin, apparently managed to agree with the President of Russia. On what conditions - this is not known even in our ministry. I can only say that the work begun to free the Crimean political prisoners will continue.

Petro Poroshenko himself in his Facebook also announced the key role of Erdogan in the release of Ilmi Umarov and Akhtem Chiygoz. The Ukrainian president noted that negotiations with the Turkish leader were conducted not only during the visit of the latter to Kyiv, but also in New York in the UN fields.

Deputy Chairman of the Medzhlis of the Crimean Tatar people prohibited in Russia by the extremist of the organization Ilmi Umarov and Akhtem Chiygoz in September of this year were sentenced to 2 and 8 years in prison, respectively. Chiygoz was found guilty of “organizing mass riots” (part 1 of article 212 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) at the walls of the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea on February 26, 2014. Umarova was sentenced to 2 years in a colony-settlement for the phrase he said on the air of the Crimean Tatar television channel: “Sanctions must force Russia to leave Crimea and Donbass.” These words were regarded by the FSB officers, as calls for violation of the territorial integrity of Russia (part 2 of article 280.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

The Majlis of the Crimean Tatar people - the representative body of the Crimean Tatars - was recognized as extremist and was banned in Russia by the decision of the Supreme Court of Crimea of ​​April 26, 2016. Supporters of the Mejlis openly declare the non -recognition of Crimea by the territory of Russia, and urge to return the peninsula to the jurisdiction of Ukraine.