Ukraine sees no problem in deportation of Tatar nationalist

The State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine has responded to the appeal of the Free Idel-Ural regarding the forced expulsion of Tatar nationalist Ilshat Sharafullin from Ukraine by employees of the Security Service of Ukraine Department in Lviv region.

The central law enforcement agency of Ukraine said that the appeal is not a statement of a criminal offense, since the information contained in it does not have circumstances with the signs of a crime. In this connection, according to the State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine, there are no grounds for entering information into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations.

“The response of the SBI is more than strange. Firstly, the statement on the legality of the actions of the Security Service of Ukraine Department in Lviv region was checked by Lviv Territorial Department of the State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine. That is, the fellow countrymen checked them. Secondly, the answer came with a huge delay, in violation of the deadlines established by the law. Thirdly, the official letter, on the letterhead of the State Bureau of Investigation, has neither an issue number nor a date of dispatch. It is not clear how investigator Yuriy Rivak signed such a letter. Fourthly, the response contains a lot of empty lyrics, but not a word about what actions were taken to verify the facts stated in the appeal. Fifth, it is still unclear what claims the Security Service of Ukraine had against Ilshat. If he was caught working for Russia, why wasn’t he arrested and tried? Why is the Tatar nationalist, who fled to Ukraine to escape repression, forcibly deported to Moldova?” the press service of the Free Idel-Ural commented on the letter of the State Bureau of Investigation.

Ilshat Sharafullin is from Yar Chally city, Republic of Tatarstan. He is 47 years old. In 2020, he illegally crossed the border with Ukraine and requested political asylum. He lived in Sumy for a year and a half and waited for a decision on his status. Later he moved to Odessa.

On February 26, 2022, two days after the invasion of the Russian Armed Forces into Ukraine, he arrived in Kyiv and joined the Territorial Defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, wanting to take part in the battles against the Russians.

In recent weeks, Ilshat tried to apply for a contract in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, he lived with one of our associates in Kyiv. On Friday, September 2, the connection with him stopped, and on Tuesday evening, September 6, he sent a message in which he indicated that he had been detained by the SSU and brought to the border with Moldova, where they were trying to deport him, but the Moldovan border guards refused to let him into Moldova.

On September 7, about 2:00 am, the Security Service of Ukraine deported Ilshat Sharafullin after 4 days of detainment. He is currently on the territory of Moldova.