MPs call on the world to condemn new wave of repression in occupied Crimea

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted a statement calling on the international community to condemn another wave of repression against Crimean Tatars in the occupied Crimea.

The relevant resolution, No. 6007, "On the statement of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine the illegal detention of First Deputy Speaker of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Nariman Celal and other representatives of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people of Crimea in the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea by the aggressor state of the Russian Federation" was supported by 293 MPs, Ukrinform reports.

"The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ... calls on national governments and parliaments of foreign states, international organizations and their parliamentary assemblies to condemn a new wave of repressions of the Russian Federation against the indigenous Crimean Tatar people in the temporarily occupied Crimea, and to apply restrictive measures against all those involved in the organization, management and execution of these crimes," the statement reads.

The Ukrainian parliament also calls on global community, during bilateral and multilateral contacts with the Russian Federation, to insist on an end to the illegal persecution of indigenous Crimean Tatar people and on the implementation of the UN International Court of Justice Order of 19 April 2017 lifting the illegal ban on the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people.

MPs call on international partners to join the Crimea Platform Declaration signed in Kyiv on August 23, 2021 and to step up efforts to de-occupy Crimea, including within the governmental, parliamentary and expert dimensions of the Crimea Platform, to restore international rule of law.

In addition, the Verkhovna Rada asks to hold hearings in parliamentary assemblies and parliaments on the latest criminal actions of the Russian Federation and to bring it to international responsibility with the involvement of the Crimea Platform mechanisms, in particular the Interparliamentary Coordinating Council of the Crimea Platform.

MPs emphasize that another criminal acts of persecution of representatives of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people by the occupation authorities of the Russian Federation are part of the systemic policy of the occupying power to change the demographic composition of the population and oust the indigenous Crimean Tatar people from Crimea, which poses a threat to its very existence and requires a decisive response from the international community.

Verkhovna Rada Chairman Dmytro Razumkov must ensure that the text of the statement is immediately sent to national governments and parliaments of foreign states, international organizations and their parliamentary assemblies.

As Ukrinform reported, on September 3-4, Russian occupation authorities in Crimea conducted mass raids in Crimean Tatar households and made a number of detentions. In particular, Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Nariman Celal and four other Crimean Tatars – Aziz Akhtemov, Asan Akhmetov, Shevket Useinov, and Eldar Odamanov – were detained. Their whereabouts were unknown to their relatives, lawyers, or human rights defenders. On September 4, relatives of the missing and lawyers gathered near the FSB building in Simferopol. More than 40 people were detained trying to find out the whereabouts of five Crimean Tatars.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expressed a strong protest in connection with the repeated illegal searches and detentions in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

The Ukrainian government called the Kremlin’s move a reaction to the launch of the Crimea Platform initiative, and demanded that all detainees be immediately released.

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