Crimean Tatar politicians arrested

After pro-Russian security forces arrested the Crimean Tatar politician Ilmi Umerov in the Crimean city of Bakhchysarai on May 12, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) now demands the OSCE to send international legal observers to the peninsula. Umerov – a senior member of the Majlis, the self-representation of the Crimean Tatars – is accused of “publicly questioning Russia’s territorial integrity”. On April 26, 2016, the Majlis (with 2,300 democratically elected representatives) had been closed down by court order. On the day the Crimean Tatar politician was arrested, four young Crimean Tatars were arbitrarily detained as well. 

“After Achtem Chijgoz was arrested and kept in custody without a trial since January 29, 2015, Umerov is the second detained Majlis representative,” said Sarah Reinke, the STP’s expert on the CIS-states. “We strongly condemn these arrests, and we would like to appeal to the German presidency of the OSCE to initiate talks with the Russian government – immediately. Internationally recognized lawyers should observe the court proceedings in Crimea.” In a letter to Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German Foreign Minister, the human rights organization stated that there is a legal vacuum on the peninsula, which the international community could no longer simply accept. The international community has already condemned the Russian annexation of Crimea in March 2014 as a violation of international law.

Umerov is accused of public statements according to which Crimea should belong to Ukraine again. If he were to be charged under Article 280.1 of § 2 of the Russian constitution, he could be facing up to five years in prison. Due to his health problems, the 58-year-old was sent home in the evening – but he is not allowed to leave the city. Umerov, who was born in exile in Uzbekistan, was one of the first descendants of the Crimean Tatars deported in 1944 who was able to return to Crimea in 1989. 

Header Photo and Video: © Qirim Haber Ajansi (Video, Photo)