In Crimea, Russian authorities step up pressure on Tatar minority

According to Refat Choubarov, the head of the Mejlis in exile, this is a retaliatory measure after the holding in Kiev on August 23 of the Crimean Platform AFP - VOLODYMYR PETROV

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Over the weekend, five officials and activists from the Crimean Tatar community were arrested.

Support rallies were then organized for those arrested, and Russian police again made dozens of arrests.

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With our correspondent in Kiev,

Stéphane Siohan

On Friday, the Russian FSB raided the homes of Tatar activists and five men were arrested, including Nariman Djelialov, vice-president of the Mejlis, the political structure representative of the Crimean Tatars.

According to Russian security forces, the five men are linked to an explosion near a gas pipeline on the peninsula.

On Saturday, the tension rose a notch, as dozens of people demonstrated against the arrests in front of the headquarters of the Russian security services, in Simferopol, the capital of the Crimea.

The police in turn embarked around forty people, mainly Tatars.

On Sunday, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Eminé Djaparova, herself a Crimean Tatar, announced that the number of people arrested is more than fifty individuals.

According to Refat Choubarov, the head of the Mejlis in exile, this is a retaliatory measure after the holding in Kiev on August 23 of the Crimean Platform, an international summit which put the occupation of the peninsula back to the diplomatic agenda.

On the sidelines of this summit, strongly criticized by Russia, the repression increased this summer: on August 16, four Tatars were sentenced for "terrorism", to terms of 12 to 18 years in prison.

In the first quarter of 2021, Russian authorities in Crimea arrested 156 human rights activists, 126 of whom are Tatars.

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