Mejlis chairman Chubarov: Tragedy of Crimean Tatar people repeating

Refat Chubarov, the Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, said this while delivering speech at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UNO Branch and other international organizations in Geneva reports.

"Crimea remains an open wound. It is particularly painful to see the categorical refusal of the Russian Federation, the occupying power, to adhere to the norms of the international humanitarian law on the occupied peninsula. It is most distressing to receive, literally daily, news of how the Crimean Tatars continue to be selectively affected by police raids," Chubarov said.

He thanked the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine for preparing a report on human rights situation in Crimea, noting that only direct reporting from the ground can really reflect the situation in the occupied territory.

The Mejlis chairman believes that “the 1944 tragedy of Crimean Tatar people is repeating today.”

“Widespread violations of fundamental freedoms, including freedoms of peaceful assembly, expression, association, religion and movement. There are neither independent mass media in Crimea, nor free journalism as a whole,” Chubarov underscored.

As noted, Russia stubbornly ignores appeals of international organizations, political leaders, civil society to save the lives of Ukrainian citizens unlawfully arrested in Crimea, convicted under trumped-up charges and detained in Russian prisons.

“Oleg Sentsov and Volodymyr Balukh have been on hunger strike more than four months and half a year respectively. Despite the promise given by the Russian president, the Ukrainian Ombudsperson was unable to get access to Ukrainian citizens – political prisoners of Russian regime. More than 70 Crimeans – Crimean Tatars, Ukrainians, representatives of other nationalities – are deprived of liberty,” Chubarov added.

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