Crimean Tatar Fined for Eight-Year-Old Social Media Chats

A court in Crimea has approved a fine of 50,000 rubles for failure to report to Crimean Tatar Emina Zekeryaeva. The case was opened due to eight-year-old chats.

According to security officials, in 2016, the girl communicated on VKontakte with Ukrainian citizen Madina Stryapcha. The latter later went to Syria, joined a military unit there, and planned a terrorist attack. Zekeryaeva was charged with failing to inform investigators of Stryapcha’s plans during a search of her home in August 2023.

“It does not follow from that old VKontakte chat that someone was preparing or committing a crime. There were no legal grounds for charging my client,” said lawyer Emil Kurbedinov.

Emine Zekeryaeva herself also emphasized that she does not consider herself guilty. Together with her lawyer, she intends to file an appeal.

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