On October 18, Azerbaijan celebrates the Day of the Restoration of Independence. It was on this date in 1991 that the republic’s Supreme Soviet adopted a Constitutional Act, formalizing the country’s departure from the Soviet system and the restoration of its state sovereignty.
FSB officers published a video of the detention in the Kherson region of Ukraine of 66-year-old Crimean Tatar Bilyal Abdurakhmanov, who opposed the annexation of Crimea. A criminal case has been initiated against him under Part 2 of Art. 208 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (participation in an illegal armed formation). The man faces up to 15 years in prison.
According to investigators, Abdurakhmanov was a member of the Crimean Tatar battalion named after Noman Chelebidzhikhan, which was recognized as “terrorist” in Russia. Russian law enforcement officers believe that the detainee took part in the blockade of Crimea in order to return it back to Ukraine. He is also accused of making statements about the need to destroy Russian troops in Ukraine.