The sailors from the Ukrainian vessel YaMK -0041 detained off the coast of Crimea have refused to take food, lawyer Edem Semedlyayev said.
“The mother of one of the sailors said they are refusing to take food and are in a state of despair from uncertainty,” he said on Facebook on June 24 evening.
The sailors are denied meetings with lawyers and their complaints are being ignored, he said.
“We continue working on releasing the Ukrainian sailors from captivity,” Semedlyayev said.
It was reported on May 4 that the crew of the Ukrainian fishing vessel YaMK-0041, registered in Ochakov, had been detained for illegally fishing flatfish west of Cape Tarkhankut. A total of five people were detained and taken to Crimea.
On the same day, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry sent to the Russian authorities a protest note in regard of the detention in the Black Sea by the Russian special services of the Ukrainian fishing vessel.
On May 7, the prosecutors of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, who are based in Kyiv, opened a criminal case on the basis of the seizure of the Ukrainian fishing vessel YaMK -0041 and illegal imprisonment of its crew.
