Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev and High Commissioner on National Minorities meet in The Hague

Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev and High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors met in The Hague on 30 January 2015 to discuss the situation of the Crimean Tatar community in Crimea, Ukraine. Among others, they touched upon political participation, land ownership and linguistic rights.

Their meeting happened as news emerged that Akhtem Chyigoz, deputy head of the Mejlis, the Crimean Tatar representative body, had been detained on 29 January on charges of “organizing and participating in a mass disorder” in February 2014. 

This incident follows credible reports from numerous sources about increasing attempts to intimidate Crimean Tatars or deny their rights. For instance, on 28 January, Seidamet Gemedzhi, a leader of Sebat, an NGO that represents Crimean Tatars who squatted land in protest at the allocation of land plots in Crimea, was reportedly detained and went on hunger strike. Just two days earlier, on 26 January, the headquarters of ATR, the only television channel broadcasting in the Crimean Tatar language, were raided and on 23 January, a local court decided to expel Mejlis member Sinaver Kadyrov from Crimea. Kadyrov, along with two other Mejlis members, had been detained while trying to leave Crimea. Restrictions have also reportedly been placed on freedom of assembly. 

The High Commissioner continues to draw the attention of the international community to the precarious position of Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in Crimea and seeks access to the peninsula to assess the situation in line with her mandate. She reiterated: “The authorities in effective control of the Crimean peninsula are obliged to ensure security and respect for human rights, including minority rights, for all those present on the territory, regardless of their ethnic origin.”