Dzhemilev: Putin could deal with Erdogan on Umerov and Chiygoz

The Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the cases of deputy chairmen of the Mejlis of Crimean Tatars Ilmi Umerov and Akhtem Chiyhoz during their meeting in Ankara on September 28, 2017.

Representative of the President of Ukraine on Crimean Tatar People Affairs Mustafa Dzhemilev told it in his interview to ATR TV channel.

According to him, Putin and Erdogan may have agreed on mitigating Umerov's sentence.

«When I was in Ankara together with the General Prosecutor of Ukraine, I handed Erdogan a letter specifically about Ilmi Umerov, Akhtem Chiygoz and other political prisoners to raise this issue at a meeting with Putin. This meeting should be next day. I asked whether he discussed these problems with the President. And he affirmed. I didn’t receive a clear answer to my question about their agreement though he smiled and answered that I would see the results», said Dzhemilev.

He suggested that Umerov's sentence would be changed to conditional imprisonment. Meanwhile Dzhemilev stressed on meaningless of Putin's promises.

«There has already reached a kind of agreement. I suggest that within an appellate review he (Putin – ed. «15 minutes») will order an indulgence. And there is nothing more. The same is about Akhtem Chiygoz», Dzhemilev said.

To remind some facts, on September 27, 2017, the Simferopol District Court judge Andrey Kulishov sentenced Ilmi Umerov for 2 years in prison in a colony-settlement with the prohibition of public activities.

Earlier, the prosecutor asked him for a sentence of imprisonment for 3 years and 6 months on probation.

Later, lawyer Mark Feygin said that there were many violations in the text of verdict. Umerov's defense had already filed an appeal against his sentence.