Ukraine at UN calls on world to respond to Dzhelyalov’s arrest in occupied Crimea

This was stated by Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN, Yuriy Vitrenko, who spoke at the UN General Assembly at the High-Level Forum on Culture of Peace, according to an Ukrinform correspondent in New York.

The diplomat recalled that pressure on religious communities remains commonplace for residents of the temporarily occupied territories. The tools employed by the occupying power include frequent police raids, demolition of temples, unreasonable registration requirements that affect the legal status and property rights, threats and harassment of the faithful of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Muslim organizations, and Jehovah's Witnesses, said the diplomat.

Dozens of peaceful Muslims, Vitrenko added, have been convicted on fabricated charges of allegedly belonging to Islamist organizations. The latest horrific case is the politically motivated persecution and illegal detention in Crimea by the Russian occupation authorities of five Crimean Tatars, including First Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis, Nariman Dzhelyalov, the Ukrainian official said, calling on the international community to act in response.

According to Vitrenko, repressive practices by Russia, particularly in the religious and cultural areas, continue to be a “sad reality" in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The difficult circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic have only exacerbated the current alarming trends, he added.

It was earlier reported that on September 3-4, illegal searches were carried out in Crimean Tatars’  homes in the occupied Crimea, followed by detentions of Crimean Tatars – public figures and ordinary citizens. Among those detained is Nariman Dzhelyalov, First Deputy Chairman of the Crimean Tatar People's Majlis, who on August 23 took part in the inaugural summit of the Crimea Platform, Ukraine’s initiative toward deoccupation of Crimea.

The FSB also detained four more activists – Eldar Adamanov, Aziz and Asan Akhtemovs, and Shevket Useinov.

Photo: Refat Chubarov, Facebook

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