The Southern Area Military Court read out the sentence of Yaroslav Zhuk, a Melitopol resident, abducted by the Russian military in 2022.
As reported by Crimean Process, Yaroslav Zhuk was found guilty of committing an act of international terror, and sentenced to 14 years in confinement, with serving the first 4 years in jail, and the remaining sentence in the maximum security regime penal colony.
Earlier a prosecutor had requested a 27-years’ sentence for Mr. Zhuk. The court passed a sentence for less than 24 hours that compromised an unbiased and comprehensive approach to assessing the evidence and other case files.
To remind:
- In June 2022, in occupied Melitopol’, the Russian military abducted two Ukrainian volunteers – Yaroslav Zhuk and Illia Yenin. On July 12, Vladimir Rogov, the “mayor” of Melitopol’ appointed by the Russian authorities, posted a video with staged confession of Yaroslav Zhuk who was saying that “on June 17, 2022, I attempted to assassinate Yelena Shapurova, director of city’s department of education. “
- Yaroslav was moved to Crimea and accused of committing a crime under RF CC 361 (act of international terrorism), and then detained.
- On August 26, 2022, the “Supreme Court” of Crimea left the pre-trial restriction unchanged, and then the detention period was extended.
- Later Yaroslav made a statement which is in possession of the Crimean Human Rights Group, that he had been tortured with electric current, forced to learn by heart a confession text and then make a video, and kept in the basement from June 17 to August 8.
- At the end of 2022, Nariman Dzhelial, Deputy Chairman of Mejlis of Crimean Tatar People, transferred a letter from the Pre-Trial Detention Center (SIZO) in which he informed that Yaroslav who was kept in the Simferopol SIZO was still subject to humiliation and physical abuse. After torture Yaroslav became partially deaf.
- In March 2023, Yaroslav was transferred to Rostov-na-Donu where a legal action against the Ukrainian was initiated at the Southern Area Military Court.
