{"id":256974,"date":"2023-07-25T11:48:46","date_gmt":"2023-07-25T08:48:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/investigator.org.ua\/?p=256974"},"modified":"2023-11-15T22:13:31","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T20:13:31","slug":"yak-krimskij-najmit-okupantiv-sejran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/investigator.org.ua\/en\/publication\/256974\/","title":{"rendered":"How Crimean collaborator Seyman Mambetov fled to the USA with Ukrainian passport?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Seyran Mambetov has been known on the Crimean peninsula as the person with two faces. On the one hand, he has been lucky showman who created commercial concert project \u201cShelyalle\u201d. On the other, he became collaborator of Russian occupants after the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. He helped occupants to destroy TV channel \u201cATR\u201d, the only TV channel of Crimean Tatars in the world. He contributed to launching Russian propagandist TV \u201cMillet\u201d financed by occupation government of the Russian Federation in Crimea.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Here is sensation: traitor Seyran Mambetov fled from Crimea to the USA where he tries to mobilize community of Crimean Tatars.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

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Since Russian full scale invasion into Ukraine, dozens of countries around the world have launched assistance programs for Ukrainians. They provide temporary shelter for Ukrainians: residence permits for the war period, permissions for work, study and a number of social security assistance. In many countries Ukrainian refugees received the status almost equal to the status of citizens of these countries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These programs have been used not only by Ukrainian women and children who escaped from the Russian shelling and persecution on territories occupied by the Russian Federation, but also by collaborators who greeted Russian occupants. Crimean collaborators are within the second group. They helped to establish Russian occupation regime. They became diligent Russian propagandists and justified Russian terror against their own people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After the Russian full scale invasion into Ukraine, Crimean collaborators faced perspectives of being mobilized into the Russian army. They took their Ukrainian foreign passports and fled to countries around the world \u2013 from Poland to the USA. Russian propagandist Seyman Mambetov with his family moved to Florida and recently appeared at Crimean Tatar party in Orlando.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2014, in order to suppress protests of Crimean Tatars, Russian occupants and their collaborators launched massive persecution of members of Majlis, self-governing body of Crimean Tatars, and delegates of Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar People, electing members of Majlis, as well as political and civic activists and journalists. People were arrested, searched, abducted, beaten and expelled. Some protesters disappeared. Many Crimean Tatar activists were imprisoned under falsified accusations of \u201cterrorism\u201d and \u201cextremism\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Seyman Namanovych Mambetov<\/b> headed mass media supervised by the Russian intelligence services and the Russian occupation government. He publicly persuaded that Crimean Tatars supported the Russian occupation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Seyran Mambetov. Photo: \u0410\u041d-\u041a\u0440\u0438\u043c<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

At the end of April, 2014, the Russian occupation administration prohibited the Crimean Tatar office of seized Ukrainian state TV company \u201cKrym\u201d to broadcast leaders of Majlis. Its director Seitislyam Kishveev and chief editor of news room Shevket Ganiev were later fired. Illegal dismissal of Kishveev has been later recognized even by the Russian occupation <\/span>court<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seyran Mambetov has been appointed by Russian occupants to head the Crimean Tatar office of TV company. Former employee of the office recalled that Mambetov called upon its subordinates to receive Russian passports:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSeyran called each employee into his cabinet. He promised young cameramen, directors and editors that he would hire them and pay good salaries. He said: \u201cGuys! Putin took away Crimea forever! Get Russian passports!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As sources of the CJI reported, after face-to-face conversations with employees, Seyran Mambetov informed <\/span>Kateryna Kozyr<\/b>, the General Director of TV company, about those employees who opposed Russian authorities and supported Majlis of Crimean Tatar people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Kateryna Kozyr. Photo: Facebook<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

In September 2014, Mambetov conducted <\/span>cleansing<\/span><\/a> of the Crimean Tatar office from \u201csuspicious\u201d and disloyal Crimean Tatar employees. They were replaced by people, loyal to the Russian occupation authorities. He introduced strict censorship. He openly justified it by the need to protect interests of Russia. Mambetov explained his censorship in an <\/span>interview<\/span><\/a> to \u041a\u0440\u0438\u043c.\u0420\u0435\u0430\u043b\u0456\u0457 in the following way:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are created to protect interests of the state. We need to introduce calmness and stability in Crimea. I think it is not convenient to broadcast opposition with its opinion about weak and small Crimean republic\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Consequently, Russian occupants prohibited <\/span>Crimean Tatar TV company \u201cATR\u201d, children\u2019s channel \u201cLyalle\u201d and radio station \u201cMeydan\u201d<\/b>. This measure suppressed freedom of thought in the Crimean Tatar community and severed censorship in Crimea media.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

March 31, 2015 has been the <\/span>last day<\/span><\/a> of TV channel ATR. <\/span>Lilia Budjurova<\/b>, chief editor of the channel, renowned journalist and poet, said farewell words: \u201cThose, who close ATR, do not hit our channel. They hit Crimean Tatar people. We stop our broadcasting today. But we will come back. We always come back\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Lilia Budjurova. Photo: Facebook<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

On April, 22, 2015, Russian \u201cHead of Crimea\u201d Aksyonov signed a <\/span>decree<\/span><\/a> about creation of Crimean Tatar TV channel supervised by the Russian occupation government of Crimea. Traitors Ruslan Balbek and Zaur Smyrnov, members of the Russian occupation government of Crimea, mentioned Seyran Mambetov as the manager of this channel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On July 21, 2015, legal entity \u201cautonomous non-commercial organization \u201cPublic Crimean Tatar TV and radio company\u201d (Russian taxpayer\u2019s code 9102190660) has been registered in the Russian State Register of Legal Entities. The company has been founded by \u201cthe subject of the Russian Federation \u2013 Republic of Crimea\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Opposition Crimean Tatars renamed it into \u201cCrimean Tatar Public TV and Radio Company\u201d, with Crimean Tatar abbreviation \u201cKOT\u201d. This abbreviation translated into Ukrainian means \u201cass\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Russian occupation government appointed Seyran Mambetov as the CEO of newly created TV and Radio Company.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

TV channel with the name \u201cMillet\u201d (\u201cpeople\u201d in Crimean Tatar language) has been launched on September 21, 2015. Mambetov declared in his interview to Russian federal TV channels that its broadcasting would cover Kherson region and reach Kyiv. The channel would signify that Crimean Tatars were not suppressed by Russia in occupied Crimea.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe feel good and comfortable here\u201d, as said Mambetov to Russian information agency \u201cNovosti\u201d at the time when Crimean Tatar activists and journalists were abducted, killed, arrested and tortured in Crimea whereas legitimate leaders of Crimean Tatars were banned from entering Crimea.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mambetov himself felt good and comfortable. Aksyonov appointed him as the member of the board of Crimean \u201cState Committee on Inter-ethnic Relations\u201d and of the <\/span>board<\/span><\/a> of \u201cMinistry of Internal Policy, Information and Communication\u201d. The Ministry issued licenses for TV and radio channels. The Russian occupation government of Crimea allocated <\/span>177 million Rubles<\/span><\/a> to \u201cMillet\u201d during the first year of its existence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It seems that Mambetov misappropriated these budgetary resources. In December 2016, Russian occupation authorities launched criminal investigation of the misappropriation of budgetary money by the management of \u201cMillet\u201d. In June 2017, Mambetov has been <\/span>dismissed<\/span><\/a> as his contract has not been prolonged. Criminal investigation did not bring any results.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Seyran Mambetov. Photo: \u041a\u0440\u044b\u043c.\u0420\u0435\u0430\u043b\u0438\u0438<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

However, Mambetov did not leave the Crimean politics. He provided various services to Crimean Tatar collaborators Remzi Iljasov, Zaur Smyrnov and others who would like to obtain positions within the Russian occupation authorities. On the eve of 2019 \u201celections\u201d in Crimea, Mambetov founded several media projects in Youtube, including discussion club called \u201cCrimean divan\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2019, a number of Crimea Tatar collaborators, headed by Remzi Iljasov, \u201cvice-speaker of the State Council of Crimea\u201d, launched \u201cpublic movement\u201d \u201cMilli yurt\u201d. <\/span>Susanna Beitullaeva<\/span><\/a>, the wife of Mambetov, made a speech at the initial meeting of this movement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Remzi Iljasov. Photo: Present Pictures<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

In March 2019, Seyran Mambetov <\/span>registered<\/span><\/a> \u201cCharitable Fund of Crimean Tatar Arts and Ethnography\u201d in the Russian jurisdiction. It seems that this fund has been created to use during 2019 \u201celections\u201d in Crimea as there were no news about its activity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, Russian occupants refused to support Crimean Tatar collaborators and they did not participate in \u201celections\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Photos<\/span><\/a> of Mambetov in social media demonstrate that after 2019 he has returned to concert and festival activity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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But recently <\/span>Osman Pashaev<\/b>, known Ukrainian journalist and head of <\/span>UA:South<\/span><\/a> project, reported that Mambetov renewed his Ukrainian passport in the Ukrainian consulate in Turkey and then fled to Florida, USA.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n