BRUSSELS – The EU is aware of the ongoing searches at the place of residence of Crimean Tatars, Maja Kocijancic, the spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations led by High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the EU Commission Federica Mogherini, has said.
“I would remind you that when the High Representative issued a declaration on behalf of the EU in mid-March on the fifth anniversary of the illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, there was particular attention paid to the situation when it comes to human rights on the Crimean peninsula and the declaration states clearly the situation has significantly deteriorated and residents on the peninsula face systematic restrictions of fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of expression, religion or belief, and association, the right to peaceful assembly. The rights of Crimean Tatars have been gravely violated, in particular, through the shutting down of Crimean Tatar media outlets, the banning of activities of the Mejlis, their self-governing body and the prosecution of its leaders and members of their community,” she said at a press briefing on March 27.
Kocijancic referred to the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which stated, in particular, that “Crimean Tatars continued to be disproportionately affected by police raids” and are often “prosecuted under terrorism and extremism-related offences in proceedings that fall short of human rights standards.”
Kocijancic said the UN and the EU are saying the same thing: “The Russian Federation must end arbitrary searches of private properties belonging to Crimean Tatars and take all the necessary steps to ensure freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, association, thought, conscience and religion can be exercised by all in Crimea without any discrimination on any ground. And in this particular context we believe that [detailed information about] the exact whereabouts of those detained should be immediately communicated to those concerned and that their rights for legal representation should be fully respected.”
Earlier on March 27, the FSB of Russia reported that 20 supporters of the Hizb ut-Tahrir, banned in Russia as an international terrorist organization, were detained in Crimea.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine protested in connection with raids and detentions of Crimean Tatars. Kyiv expressed concern that the “Hizb ut-Tahrir case” was chosen as a pretext for searches, which, according to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, was used to “fabricate cases” against Crimean Tatar activists and lead to their further convictions. In this regard, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry did not rule out that “today’s events could be the beginning of a new wave of prosecutions of Crimean Tatars,” and called on the international community to immediately respond to the actions of the Russian side, in particular, by expanding sanctions.
