Lawyer who represents Ukrainian POWs arrested in occupied Crimea

Russian security forces in occupied Crimea have arrested Alexey Ladin, a lawyer who defends political prisoners and Ukrainian soldiers captured by Russian troops, the news outlets Mediazona and Grati reported on Friday.

Ladin’s colleagues and relatives told Grati that the lawyer had just returned to the occupied peninsula from Rostov-on-Don, where he had taken part in the hearings of Ukrainian POWs being tried in a military court. On the morning of October 13, he planned to go to Simferopol for the hearing of a Yalta resident charged with possession of explosives.

According to Grati, Ladin was arrested as soon as he arrived in Simferopol. Lawyer Lilya Gemedji said that preliminary information suggests Ladin is being charged with “discrediting” the Russian army for a post he made on Facebook, while relatives of the lawyer said his arrest is linked to “extremism” charges.