Russia arrests lawyer who defends political prisoners, Ukrainians
Russian authorities in occupied Crimea had arrested Alexey Ladin, an attorney who represents political prisoners and Ukrainians imprisoned by Russia, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on Oct. 13, citing Crimean lawyer Emil Kuberdinov.
A Russian court jailed Ladin for 14 days and fined him 45,000 rubles ($460) for allegedly "distributing extremist symbols."
Journalist Anton Namliuk said that the charges related to the lawyer's three Facebook posts featuring the Ukrainian coat of arms, the Crimean Tatar tamga symbol, and statements against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian news outlet Graty, Ladin was detained in the early morning hours on Oct. 13 in Simferopol, Crimea, while he was returning from the Russian city Rostov-on-Don, where he took part in court hearings of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty noted that Ladin took part in many trials involving Crimean Tatars, Ukrainian prisoners of war, and Ukrainian civilians kidnapped by Russia from occupied territories.
Russia occupied Crimea in 2014 after the EuroMaidan Revolution ousted the pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. Since then, the occupation authorities have been carrying out repressions against pro-Ukrainian activists and Crimean Tatars.
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