Eight judges who defected to Russian occupation authorities in Crimea were sentenced to 12-15 years in absentia on high treason charges, Ukraine's Crimea and Sevastopol Prosecutor's Office reported on Nov. 23.
Five of them were sentenced to 12 years, two to 13 years, and one to 15 years.
The judges reportedly entered the services of Russian authorities upon the occupation of Crimea in 2014 and held positions in Russia-created "courts" in the occupied peninsula.
The prosecutors noted that through their work, the judges contributed to establishing and strengthening occupation authorities in Crimea.
Russia occupied Crimea in 2014 after the EuroMaidan Revolution ousted the pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych.
Since then, the occupation authorities, including their "legal" structures, have been carrying out repressions against pro-Ukrainian activists and Crimean Tatars, who are regularly indicted with trumped-up charges and sentenced to lengthy prison terms in kangaroo courts.
