Lawyers in Russia-occupied Crimea have been receiving threats since the detention of their colleague Emil Kurbedinov, the Verkhovna Rada's Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denysova has said.

At the same time, she voiced the belief that the fact that Kurbedinov has been arrested for five days has to do with his intentions to defend Bohdan Nebylytsia, one of the Ukrainian seamen taken prisoners of war by Russia, who happens to be the captain of the Nikopol warship that was seized by Russians on November 25.

"Following the situation with Kurbedinov, lawyers in Crimea have been receiving threats from law-enforcement bodies of the occupation authorities of Crimea," Denysova wrote on Facebook on December 10.

As earlier reported, Russia-controlled Kyivsky district court in Simferopol (occupied Crimea) on December 7 arrested lawyer Emil Kurbedinov for a period of five days on suspicion of disseminating extremist information on the Internet.

On December 6, the occupation authorities of the Russian Federation detained in Crimea lawyer Kurbedinov who has, in particular, defended the rights of the Ukrainian naval personnel taken prisoners of war by Russia on November 25.