Crimea's Tatar parliament banned by court

By Ali Cura

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine

The governing body of Crimea’s Tatars was banned as an "extremist organization" Tuesday.

The Mejlis was banned by the Supreme Court of Crimea following a prosecution application lodged in February, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent.

“The non-government organization Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people has now been recognized as extremist,” prosecutor Natalya Poklonskaya said, the Russian government-run TASS news agency reported.

“That is, its activity is banned in the Russian Federation in general. Any actions will be assessed as illegal. If the Mejlis members or its representatives conduct any activity contrary to the court ruling, they will be brought to responsibility.”

The Russian Justice Ministry has already put the organization on a list of banned groups, TASS said.

In a written statement, Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary general of the Council of Europe, condemned the court’s decision.

“I am very concerned by the decision taken today by the court of Simferopol to declare the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People an ‘extremist organization’ and to ban it,” he said.

He voiced fears the ban would unleash a fresh wave of oppression in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in March 2014.

Jagland highlighted a recent human rights report issued by the council that said: “Qualifying the Mejlis as an extremist organization would considerably increase the risk of further alienation of the Crimean Tatar community.”

Refat Chubarov, president of the Mejlis, told a news conference that the body would continue working from Kiev and condemned the “unlawful” decision.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry also criticized the judgment as "violation of human rights".

The Mejlis is the representative and executive body of Crimean Tatars and consists of 33 members located in Simferopol.

Since Russia's annexation of Crimean peninsula, the region’s Tatar minority has complained of repression including arbitrary arrest and detention.

*Anadolu Agency correspondents Ahmet Sait Akcay and Ilker Girit contributed to this story from Ankara and Istanbul.