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A member of the Russian security service FSB escorts one of the 12 Ukrainian sailors to the Simferopol court, the capital of Crimea, on November 27, 2018. REUTERS / Pavel Rebrov
The standoff continues between Moscow and Kiev. Two days after the very serious maritime incident off the Crimea, twelve of the 24 Ukrainian sailors apprehended by the coastguard were sentenced to two months' detention on remand. The other sailors should be judged this 28 November.
With our correspondent in Moscow, Daniel Vallot
Two months of pretrial detention, it is the sentence pronounced by the court of Simferopol, in Crimea against the twelve Ukrainian sailors heard this Tuesday, November 27th. For judges, seafarers entered Russian territorial waters without authorization. They crossed the border illegally.
For the seafarers' lawyer, quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP), this decision is not legally based " neither on the basis of Russian law nor on that of international law ".
" Provocation "
The decision of the Simferopol court is unsurprising. For two days, the Russian authorities have repeatedly accused the Ukrainian sailors of having acted knowingly, and of having acted with the aim of " provoking " an incident with Russia.
A version widely relayed by the pro-Kremlin media in Russia, which broadcast the statements of several Ukrainian sailors, registered by the Russian security services.
False statements, made under duress, immediately denounced the Ukrainian authorities. On the other hand, they recognized the presence of several Ukrainian intelligence officers on board the apprehended ships.