The Ukrainian diplomatic mission in Berlin has initiated criminal proceedings against several German lawmakers over the visits they made to Crimea without Kiev’s consent, Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andrij Melnyk said on Tuesday.
“The embassy initiated criminal proceedings against several German lawmakers. There is an article of the criminal code on illegal visits to occupied territories. It provides for a prison sentence of up to eight years. And the fact that you are a lawmaker does not absolve you from accountability,” the ambassador told Ukraine’s news outlet Evropeiska Pravda.
According to Melnyk, the likelihood of the lawmakers receiving any punishment in Ukraine are limited.
“Germany does not extradite its citizens, and the German criminal code does not have a similar offense,” the ambassador added.
The diplomat noted that embassy was working to introduce administrative responsibility in Germany for trips to Crimea without Kiev’s consent, primarily for politicians.