Trial of Crimean journalist set to resume in Simferopol
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 7 July 2017 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Trial of Crimean journalist set to resume in Simferopol, 7 July 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59818e3313.html [accessed 3 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
July 07, 2017 11:47 GMT
By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
Crimean journalist Mykola Semena
Russia-appointed judges at a court in Ukraine's occupied Crimea region were scheduled on July 7 to resume the trial of Mykola Semena, an RFE/RL contributor who is fighting what he says is a politically motivated separatism charge.
The trial in the Crimean capital, Simferopol, has been delayed several times since it started in late March.
Semena faces up to five years in prison if convicted by the Russian-appointed judges, who previously have jailed several people from Crimea who opposed or criticized Moscow's 2014 seizure of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine.
The charge against the 66-year-old Semena stems from an article he wrote for RFE/RL's Krym.Realii (Crimea Realities) website in 2015.
The Kremlin-installed prosecutor in Crimea charged that the article had called for the violation of Russia's territorial integrity.
Semena denies the accusation as baseless and politically motivated, saying Russian authorities have based the case on an inaccurate Russian translation of his original Ukrainian text.
Activists say Semena's trial is part of a systemic Russian clampdown on independent media and dissent in Crimea since Moscow's illegal annexation of the peninsula.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
