Chubarov: 18 Crimean Tatars are behind bars in the Crimea
According to the chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Refat Chubarov, there are currently 18 Crimean Tatars imprisoned in Crimea, Krym.Realii reported.
“There are now 18 Crimean Tatars behind bars. Unfortunately, according to our data, this number will increase. The imprisoned Crimean Tatars include the deputy head of the Mejlis, Ahtem Chiygoz, as well has civil society activists, Ali Asanov and Mustafa Degermendzhi,” Chubarov said.
According to their information, 14 Crimean Tatars are suspected of organizing terrorist acts.
Chubarov has said that by doing this, the Russian government is attempting to portray the Crimean Tatars as “Islamic extremists”.
At the end of February 2016, there were at least 12 people imprisoned in Crimea for political reasons, of whom 10 were Crimean Tatars. This is according to public initiative group, Euromaidan SOS.
International organizations, including the European Parliament, have repeatedly discussed human rights violations in the illegally annexed Crimea. They have urged Moscow to stop these violations. The Russian-controlled Crimean authorities have called such claims “exaggerations”.
On the 6th of April, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine reported that 60 cases of violations of rights in Crimea have been opened since the beginning of 2016.