Russia sentences 77-year-old Crimean political prisoner to 18 years over alleged plot to assassinate Kremlin-installed governor

Volodymyr Ananiev, a 77-year-old Crimean political prisoner, has been illegally sentenced to 18 years in prison by a court in Rostov-on-Don. Ananiev is accused of plotting an "assassination attempt" on Sergei Aksyonov, the so-called head of occupied Crimea.

Source: Crimean Tatar Resource Center

Details: Volodymyr Ananiev was detained in Simferopol on 2 February 2024 while he was at an acquaintance's flat.

Russian investigators claim that Ananiev was part of a group that used a hidden camera to monitor Sergei Aksyonov. The group was allegedly preparing a remotely controlled explosive device, which they stored in a rented garage in Simferopol.

Volodymyr Bodnar and Oksana Shevchenko are also implicated in the case. The Russian occupation authorities sentenced them earlier: Bodnar received 13 years in prison and Shevchenko 10 years.

The 77-year-old Ananiev was "tried" by the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don and sentenced to 18 years in prison. He will spend the first four years in prison and the remainder of his sentence in a maximum-security penal colony.

Ananiev was also ordered to pay a fine of RUB 600,000 (about US$7,300).

"Volodymyr Ananiev is the oldest Crimean political prisoner. He has problems with his eyesight, spine, muscles, kidneys and legs and walks with a cane. He has undergone surgery on both eyes, but his eyesight continues to deteriorate, and glaucoma is developing in one eye. He also suffers from high blood pressure," the Crimean Tatar Resource Center reported.

The centre added that 64 elderly Crimean political prisoners have faced persecution by Russia. Of these, 45 have already been sentenced and 19 are being held in pre-trial detention centres.

Background: Earlier, the condition of 68-year-old Halyna Bekhter from Zaporizhzhia Oblast deteriorated significantly while she was imprisoned in Russia. Bekhter was "sentenced" under Russian occupation for transferring money to support the Ukrainian military.

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