Crimean lawyer Semedlyaev: We are ready for any repression

The lawyer Edem Semedlyaev commenting on his colleague’s arrest, a lawyer Emil Kurbedinov, said that they are always ready for such suppression while handling the politically issued case in the occupied Crimea.

As you know, on Thursday, January 26, the Russian Federation FSS detained the lawyer Emil Kurbedinov in Crimea who stands for the most «cases» of the illegally sentenced Ukrainians and the Crimean Tatars on a peninsula.

Security forces stopped Kurbedinov and Semedlyaev on their way to Bakhchisaray. The lawyers went to Seyran Saliev’s house where the house check was held. Afterwards Kurbedinov was arrested and his house and office were being searched as well and all equipment had been confiscated.

«It is all (arrest – «15 minutes») related only with the professional activities of Emil Kurbedinov, and we do not associate it with anything else. He is an unfavorable lawyer. Kurbedinov handles not only all the resonant cases, but also actively informs all media sources, he acts everywhere and defends the rights of the Crimean Tatars, the Crimean Muslims», Semedlyaev told it to ATR TV channel.

Kurbedinov was arrested for 10 days for his four-years-ago post in the social network. The lawyer reposted the publication of «Hizb ut-Tahrir» rally in Simferopol in June 2013. «The court» considered it as «the public dissemination of extremist materials».

«Emil told that he did not even remember this publication. There should not be spoken about any propagation. At that time it was allowed doing, thus he did not pay attention to it. «The judge» felt that even a fine would not be enough to punish and assigned him an administrative arrest for 10 days», Semedlyaev said.

According to the lawyer, taking up the politically issued cases in Crimea, he and his colleagues know what they are risking.

«We know what risks we are going to, where we are going, and we are ready for any repression», he stressed out. The Russian lawyer also arrested by the security forces the day before (FSS tried to question him as a witness in his client’s «case», the deputy chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Ilmi Umerov), Nikolay Polozov said that he considered the last days events as «the lawyers’ elimination before a new wave of more serious repressions».

«Repressions will relate directly to the members of the Mejlis. In my opinion, there will be a wave of «cases» actually cutting the ground from under the Crimean Tatar community. None will interfere the security forces’ feast of life if they eliminate first of all the legal terrain and lawyers who actively impede outrages and lawlessness on the peninsula», Polozov said.