Former Kremlin political prisoner Dzhelal will become Ukraine’s new ambassador to Turkey
First Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, former Kremlin prisoner Nariman Dzhelal will become Ukraine's new ambassador to Turkey.
This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a press conference in Turkey, Censor.NET reports.
"Today in the Ukrainian delegation we have Nariman Dzhelal, he is the deputy chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people. He is a very respected person in Ukraine, and unfortunately, he was subjected to Russian repression. He was captured when he was returning home -- returning to our Ukrainian Crimea. And Nariman spent almost three years in Russian detention simply for being a patriot, simply for his clear position, he did nothing wrong," the president said.
According to Zelenskyy, it is symbolic that Nariman Dzhelal will start his work in the new building of the Ukrainian embassy, which was officially opened today.
Reference
Nariman Dzhelal is a Ukrainian political scientist and journalist. He is the first deputy chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people and has held this position since 2013.
Dzhelial was detained by the occupation authorities on September 4, 2021 in Yevpatoria on charges of blowing up a gas pipeline in the village of Perevalne.
On September 21, 2022, the occupation Supreme Court of Crimea sentenced him to 17 years in a strict regime colony, a fine of 700 thousand rubles and 1.6 years of restriction of freedom of movement.
Nariman Dzhelal was returned to Ukraine on June 28, 2024, as part of a prisoner exchange.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy first announced that Nariman Dzhelal would be Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey on December 20, 2024. The decree is not yet available on the website of the President's Office.
