A court in Russian-occupied Crimea has sentenced Redvan Suleymanov to 1 year and 8 months imprisonment on a charge which differs radically from his widely televised ‘confession’ to involvement in a Ukrainian military ‘Crimea saboteur plot’. Natalya Skholnaya, ‘judge’ at the Zheleznodorozhny District Court, also ordered him to pay almost three and a half million roubles in unproven damages. This is despite compelling grounds for believing that, if not the charge itself, then the claimed damages were always aimed at hiding vast amounts of money siphoned off by corrupt officials. Redvan’s mother is not alone in viewing the proceedings as far more similar to a farce, than a court trial.

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