Russian human rights activists urge to stop persecution of Crimean Tatars

Russian human rights activists urge to stop persecution of Crimean Tatars

Ukrinform
Members of the Human Rights Council of St. Petersburg issued a statement demanding to stop the persecution of Crimean Tatars in annexed Crimea.

“We demand to stop the persecution of Crimean Tatars. Under the Soviet rule, the Crimean Tatar people underwent deportation which began on May 18, 1944. Crimean Tatars were fighting for decades for the right to return to their native land. On November 8, 1989, the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people was declared illegal by the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR. Crimeans felt they were free people enjoying the same rights as others only after the collapse of the USSR,” Crimea. Realities reports with reference to the Council’s statement.

According to human rights activists, reprisals against Crimean Tatars residing in Crimea have started since March 2014 in Crimea and continue till now.

“Officially, Russia recognizes past repressions and declares concern about the rehabilitation process. In fact, the Crimean Tatars are again being ousted from the peninsula. Many of them were forced to leave and now live in [the mainland] Ukraine, Turkey, European countries. Those who have stayed in Crimea feel that their presence is undesirable as constantly demonstrated by representatives of the authorities, police and FSB. The searches in houses [of Crimean Tatars] are conducted, they are detained and taken to police stations, pre-trial detention centers, they are tortured and receive horrible ‘Stalinist’ prison terms,” the human rights activists say.

"Crimean Tatars are subjected to ethnic persecution (in fact, Crimean Tatars are surreptitiously considered an ‘unreliable nation’). They are persecuted for their religion: many Crimean Tatars belong to a particular destination in Islam - Hizb ut-Tahrir (which is recognized as terrorist organization and banned in Russia, but is allowed in Ukraine and many other countries). The Human Rights Council of St. Petersburg strongly objects to the formation of an enemy image of the Crimean Tatar people, ”the statement reads.

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