The sentence is expected on August 11 of Akhtem Chiygoz, Deputy Head of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis and recognized political prisoner. He and other Crimean Tatars are on trial, as Chiygoz said in his final address, for upholding the law and for defending Ukraine’s territorial integrity, with Russia’s prosecution carried out by people who themselves turned traitors. Although Chiygoz has officially not been convicted, he has already been held in custody for two and a half years on openly lawless charges and an acquittal is not anticipated.
Akhtem Chiygoz is himself clear not only that a prison sentence is awaited, but also that this is “a sentence directed against the entire Crimean Tatar people on behalf of the Russian Federation which has occupied my Homeland”.
