Court proceedings to ban Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people have begun
On March 3rd, 2016, the trial which aims to prohibit the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars on the peninsula, began in the Supreme Court of Crimea.
“Traditionally, the quarter of the courthouse is surrounded by police officers. The court itself is fenced with turnstiles. Entrance to the building is allowed through the framework of metal detectors. People are searched,” the Head of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Kurultay of the Crimean Tatars, Zaire Smedlyaev, reported to Krym.Realii .
"This time we chose the smallest courthouse. We sent many students to fill the extra spaces in the audience," Smedlyaev said.
The First Deputy of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Nariman Jelal, the Member of Parliament, Emine Avamileva, and the lawyer, Dzhemil Temishev, are representing the interests of the Mejlis in the courtroom.
The Prosecutor of Crimea, Natalia Polonskaya, has appealed to the court demanding that the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People be banned and recognized as extremist.
An executive member of the Mejlis said that the submitted application contains many legal inconsistencies. The appearance of this lawsuit is considered to be politically motivated.
The European Union has already expressed concern about the intention to ban the activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People.
On the 2nd of March, 2016, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Ukrainian Helsinki Union on Human Rights condemned the harassment of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People in Crimea. After the annexation of the peninsula by Russia in early 2014, the Russian authorities banned the leaders of the Crimean Tatars, Refat Chubarov and Mustafa Dzhemilev, from entering the territory for five years.
The court has given Mejlis members time to get acquainted with the materials of the case and the court’s next session has been scheduled for March 10.