Akhtem Chiygoz and Ilmi Umerov left Russia and were transferred to Turkey

The leaders of the Crimean Tatar national movement Akhtem Chiygoz and Ilmi Umerov were pardoned by the President of Russia. As journalist Anton Naumlyuk writes on Facebook, “Umerov and Chiygoz were taken from Crimea to Turkey. At the moment they are on their way to Ankara.” The same information is confirmed by lawyer Nikolai Polozov.

One of the leaders of the Crimean Tatars, Mustafa Dzhemilev , told Ukrayinska Pravda that Chiygoz and Umerov were first brought to Simferopol, after which they flew to Anapa, and now they are heading to Ankara.

Dzhemilev added that this extradition became possible thanks to the agreements reached during the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Ukraine.

On September 11, the Supreme Court of Crimea sentenced Akhtem Chiygoz, deputy chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, to eight years in a penal colony, finding him guilty of organizing riots in Simferopol on February 26, 2014. He has been under arrest since January 29, 2015.

On September 27, Ilmi Umerov, deputy head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, was found guilty of inciting to violate the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation (Article 280.1 of the Criminal Code) and sentenced him to two years in a colony-settlement.

Prior to the annexation of Crimea to Russia, Umerov served as head of the administration of the Bakhchisaray district, and was also deputy chairman of the Supreme Council of Crimea. In May 2016, the prosecutor's office of the republic opened a criminal case on public calls for separatism because of Umerov's speech on the Ukrainian TV channel ATP: he demanded that Crimea be returned to Ukraine on air.

Umerov was detained in Bakhchisarai and taken to the FSB headquarters in Simferopol. In addition, he was searched. As a preventive measure, they chose a written undertaking not to leave the place.