Harassment against Crimean Tatars escalates, following an election boycott

On Thursday, after being contacted by Crimean human rights organizations, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) sent an urgent appeal to the German Federal Government to immediately protest against the forced eviction of the Crimean Tatar assembly, the Mejlis. "The harassment against the ethnic group has been getting worse and worse during the last days and weeks, after the Crimean Tatars had called for a boycott of the election: there are raid, threats, people being summoned, arrests. Also, last but not least, the Mejlis building in Simferopol now has to be cleared within the next 24 hours – which can be seen as a break-up of the Mejlis itself," the STP warned in the letter to Chancellor Angela Merkel. "The federal government must not accept these repressive measures against the ethnic group of the Crimean Tatars. Please call on the authorities in the Crimea and in Moscow to stop these developments." The STP's letter was also signed by the two human rights organizations in Crimea, Crimea SOS and the Crimean Field Mission on Human Rights, as well as the YEN (Youth of European Nationalities).

On Wednesday, Riza Shevkiev, director of the charitable foundation of the Mejlis and owner of the building, received a letter to inform her that the Mejlis must be cleared within one day. After that, anything left in the building would be confiscated and nobody would be allowed to enter the building. Previously, the Secret Service had searched the house for eleven hours. Computers, money and important documents were confiscated and the personal safe of the Crimean Tatar politician Mustafa Dzhemilev was opened. The Crimean Tatar newspaper "Avdet" is produced in the building too. Shevkiev stated that it is impossible to leave the house within the given timeframe. "But this action against the Mejlis is just the tip of the iceberg," said a spokesman of Crimea SOS, who is currently visiting the STP in Berlin. "Every day, there are searches of houses of Crimean Tatars. They are scared – and we fear that many will decide to flee."

On September 17, the Borochokrak mosque in Simferopol was searched. On the same day, there was a raid during a prayer meeting at the mosque in Fontany, a suburb of Simferopol. Three religious books that are indexed in Russia were confiscated. Several Crimean Tatars households in the village of Kolchugina were searched. Witnesses reported that at least six police cars and a van had driven into the village, transporting men with machine guns. The raids, in which weapons, drugs and "forbidden" books were sought, lasted three hours. On Wednesday, the Crimean Tatar school in Zuya (in the district Belgorodski) was searched. "We are afraid that – for the Crimean Tatars – history will repeat itself. They were forcibly expelled in 1944 once already," warned Oksana Bondar of the civil rights organization "Kreatyv", who is currently visiting Berlin. Crimea SOS emphasized: "We need international support and clear words from the Chancellor to the rulers in the Crimea"!

Memorandum documents harassment against Crimean Tatars and restrictions to freedom of religion

Before the regional elections in Crimea, we published a memorandum about the situation of human rights and minorities in Crimea. You can download the memorandum (in German) here.
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Sarah Reinke, head of the Berlin office and STP's expert on Eastern Europe is available for further questions: +49 30 4280 4891 or berlin@gfbv.de.

Header Photo: Bossi/Flickr