Kyiv, October 6, 2014 – «Cases of kidnapping became more frequent in the Crimea annexed by Russia. According to the information from Mejlis, since the beginning of occupation up till now 18 people have been reported missing, the majority being Crimean Tatars. There are evidences of so-called “self-defence of Crimea” involvement», – stated a member of Ukrainian parliament, Crimean Tatars Affairs Commissioner for the President of Ukraine, the first head of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Mustafa Dzhemilev during his media-briefing in Ukrainian Crisis Media Center. «Not a single murder or kidnapping was investigated, no one was brought to justice. This is a fight against the nonconformity and the attempt to strike terror in people. The day before yesterday a 23-old Tatarian disappeared. The Federal Security Service denies its involvement. Two people were detained and shoved into a car. There were witnesses who saw everything and recorded the number. These were members of so-called self-defence teams. It is the rabble consisting of criminals, retired officers of the Security Service of Ukraine, KGB, GRU and so-called kazaks. These people are fulfilling dirty tasks on demand. The same pertains to the murder of Reshat Akhmetov whose body was found on March 15th. Not a single kidnapping of murder has been investigated by now, no one brought to justice. It is done to strike terror in people, first of all those who do not accept the occupation and are ready to confront the occupying regime. These are, most of all, representatives of Mejlis and Crimean Tatar People», – states Mr. Dzhemilev.
According to the former head of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, further repressions and prejudice of rights of Crimean Tatars in Crimea continue. Only within last weeks the occupying authorities conducted approximately 40 searches in houses of citizens under formal pretext of “search of prohibited literature and weapons. The Soviet notion resurrects. This “prohibited list” includes approximately 2600 titles of political and religious literature. These actions are directed at defeating nonconformity and aim at intimidating Crimean Tatars. All these searches are conducted rudely, impudently, with use of force», – added Mustafa Dzhemilev.
Fines are another method of Crimean Tatar People intimidation. In compliance with decrees of occupying authorities of the peninsula, more than three people gathering together without prior permission of Crimean authorities are qualified as unlawful meeting. «Most people who came to meet me in March were accused with unlawful crossing of the border between the occupied Crimea and mainland Ukraine and fined. The total sum of fine amounted to several million rubles», – Mr. Dzhemilev pointed out during his media briefing.
Answering the question of possible total deportation of Crimean Tatar People, Mustafa Dzhemilev pointed out that such threat exists and “becomes more and more clearly shaped, despite the opposite statements of Russian and Crimean authorities». «Russian authorities are preparing so-called population count – it is an element of preparation to deportation, if not total, then major deportation of Crimean Tatars», – explained the leader of the Crimean Tatar People.
