UK calls on Russia to stop mass detentions of Crimean Tatars

The United Kingdom calls on Russia to stop unacceptable attempts to intimidate the Crimean Tatar community and to release all Ukrainian political prisoners immediately.

“Russia's continued mass detentions of Crimean Tatars - including a further 31 Tatars detained yesterday - must stop. The United Kingdom calls on Russia to end its unacceptable attempts to intimidate the Crimean Tatar community and release all Ukrainian political prisoners immediately,” the British Embassy in Kyiv posted on Twitter.

As reported, on November 23, in the occupied Crimea, lawyer Edem Semedlyaev was released from the Simferopol temporary detention facility after 12 days of administrative arrest. Dozens of activists came to welcome Semedlyaev and were detained by Russian law enforcement officers. Thirty-one detainees, including women and journalists, were taken to the Kyivsky District Police Department of Simferopol.

First Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Emine Dzheppar stated that Russia must immediately end detentions and arrests in the temporarily occupied Crimea and release all illegally detained Ukrainian citizens.

ol