Dzheppar calls new arrests of Crimean Tatars ‘revenge and purge’
The detention and arrest of five Crimean Tatars in the Russian-occupied Crimea is revenge and purge, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Emine Dzheppar has said.
“Unfortunately, this is a systemic story, we understand that the purpose of such actions is very simple – it is paralysis, to put people in such conditions of fear so that everyone understands what can happen next, so that there is no resistance. This is such a purge. The five detainees are activists, people who attended court hearings and helped their relatives. One of them, the night before his mother's house was searched, returned from Rostov-on-Don, where the sentence was announced to other Crimean Tatars. I think this is an act of revenge," Dzheppar said, Ukrinform reports with reference to Ukraine 24 TV channel.
She also noted that political prisoners held in Russia receive assistance funded by Ukraine through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"Political prisoners who are now held either in the occupied Crimea, or in Rostov-on-Don, in other parts of Russia, have consular protection and lawyers funded by Ukraine," Dzheppar added.
On August 17, new mass raids on the houses of Crimean Tatar Muslims took place in the temporarily occupied Crimea. After the searches, five people were detained.
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