Immediately before the anniversary of the seizure of power in Crimea (February 27), the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) has published a human rights report that documents the systematic human rights violations and repression against the Crimean Tatars and others.

One year ago, on February 27, Russian soldiers and pro-Russian separatists seized power in Crimea. For the approximately 300,000 Crimean Tatars, this entailed a year of systematic violations of their rights: Their most important leaders were expelled, arrested and criminalized – and their self-representative body, the Majlis, is to be brought into line by force. Young Crimean Tatars were abducted, and their whereabouts often remain unknown. Three murder cases have not been solved. The editorial offices of the Crimean Tatar TV-station and the Crimean Tatar newspaper were searched. The authorities threatened to close down the media. Further, there were many searches of Mosques, Muslim schools as well as private houses and apartments. "The persecution against the Crimean Tatars must be stopped, and there must be an end to impunity for the crimes against them and others," said Sarah Reinke, the STP's expert on questions concerning the CIS-states. "The international community must act, now! Crimea must not disappear from the international agenda!"

Vladimir Putin justifies the seizure of power in Crimea as an attempt to protect the Russian population. "This argument was a lie, right from the start. The past year of Russian-influenced politics in Crimea has shown what this means for Putin: Suppressing those who are seen as disloyal, as dissidents, people who think or look differently." It is not only the Crimean Tatars who are affected. There are also repressive measures against Ukrainians who criticize the Crimean leadership and against journalists. There are strict limitations of religious freedom – especially for the Catholics, whose pastors had to leave Crimea, for Orthodox Christians of the Kiev Patriarchate and other religious communities. Members of these communities are now forced to re-register.

One day before the power seizure, on February 26, 2014, thousands of Crimean Tatars had gathered in Simferopol to demonstrate, wanting Crimea to remain a part of the Ukraine. Now, they are the ones who dare to question the pro-Russian authorities the most. Currently, these authorities are trying to break up and criminalize the Majlis, as an attempt to replace the leadership by pro-Russian representatives.

Header Photo: Flickr/Nuria Fatych