Meanwhile, the Crimean Desk of RFE/RL's service has an update on the arrest of Ilmi Umerov's lawyer:
A Russian lawyer who is defending a prominent Crimean Tatar activist says he was forcibly detained and taken to a Federal Security Service's (FSB) office in Russia-controlled Crimea on January 25.
Nikolai Polozov, who was seen being forced into a car by men in civilian clothes, said he was released two hours later.
He said FSB officers had used psychological pressure in an effort to force him to answer questions related to the case of his client, Ilmi Umerov.
Polozov added that he refused to answer the questions.
Polozov's colleague Mark Feigin said earlier on Twitter that Polozov would risk being barred from representing Umerov if he invoked his right to protect his client's privacy.
Umerov, former deputy chairman of the Crimean Tatars' self-governing body, the Mejlis, was charged with separatism last year after he publicly criticized Moscow's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014.
Read the entire article here.
Lawyer For Prominent Crimean Tatar Activist Forcibly Detained
By Crimea Desk of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
A Russian lawyer who is defending a prominent Crimean Tatar activist was forcibly detained and taken to a Federal Security Service (FSB) office in Russia-controlled Crimea on January 25.
An RFE/RL correspondent saw six men in civilian clothing forcing well-known defense lawyer Nikolai Polozov into a car near a hotel in the Crimean capital, Simferopol. The car then drove away.
Polozov's colleague Mark Feigin said later on Twitter that Polozov had been taken to an FSB office for questioning regarding the case against his client, Ilmi Umerov, a former deputy chairman of the Crimean Tatars' self-governing body, the Mejlis.
Feigin said that Polozov may refuse to answer questions, invoking his right not to talk about his client, but in that case he risks being barred from representing Umerov.
Umerov was charged with separatism last year after he publicly criticized Moscow's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014.
In August, Umerov was forcibly admitted to a psychiatric clinic for a month of assessment tests.
The Moscow-based Memorial Human Rights Center has called the case against Umerov "illegal and politically motivated."
EU Court Rejects Russian Missile-Maker's Challenge Against Sanctions
BRUSSELS -- A European Union court has rejected a bid by Russian arms maker Almaz-Antey to force the EU to lift sanctions imposed in connection with the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The EU slapped sanctions on Almaz-Antey in July 2014, together with 36 other entities and 146 people that Brussels considers responsible for "actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine."
The Luxembourg-based General Court said on January 25 that the EU Council had not acted disproportionately in freezing the funds of Almaz-Antey, which makes antiaircraft weaponry including Buk surface-to-air missile systems, and that the reason for putting it on sanctions list in 2014 was valid.
At the time, the official EU journal said that "the Russian authorities have been providing heavy weaponry to separatists in eastern Ukraine, contributing to the destabilization of Ukraine," and that the weapons were being used for "shooting down airplanes" among other things. State-owned Almaz-Antey "therefore contributes to the destabilization of Ukraine," it said.
The court said that the EU was not required to "demonstrate positively that the weapons which Almaz-Antey produced were used in Ukraine by the separatists" as such evidence "would be difficult to provide, particularly in a conflict situation."
The sanctions were prolonged by six months in September 2016 and are expected to be extended by another six months in March.
With reporting by AFP
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council:
