Days after a raid of Crimean Tatar TV station Russian authorities detain Mejlis deputy chairman, Ukraine Today informs.
Russian authorities have reportedly detained a Deputy Chairman of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, the Muslim minority group's governing body, on suspicion of organizing ‘mass disorder' in Simferopol last year. Akhtem Chiygoz's detainment comes during an investigation by Russian officials into clashes between Crimean Tatars and pro-Russian activists beside the peninsula's parliament on 26 February 2014.
Earlier this week Russia's FSB Security Service raided the offices of Crimean Tatar TV channel ATR in Simferopol. Russia's Federal Investigative Committee justified the assault by saying it was part of an investigation into the deaths of two local residents about a year ago. Files and personal data were taken by police. Hundreds gathered outside the TV broadcaster in protest of the raid.
The Organisation for the Security and Cooperation in Europe said that "this practice of intrusion on free and independent media cannot be tolerated."
Since Russia illegally annexed Ukraine's Black Sea Peninsula in March Western leaders and human rights organizations have said that Crimean Tatars, which make up about 10% of the peninsula's population, have faced discrimination, pressure, and abuse from the Kremlin-backed authorities.
Yulia Gorbunova, Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia researcher: "So, authorities have started this campaign of intimidation against Crimean Tatars, and they used various pretexts, including combating extremism. Under that pretext they conducted searches in dozens of private homes, in Islamic schools, in mosques, claiming that they've been looking for prohibited literature, weapons, and drugs."
Latvia's Foreign Minister Edgar Rinkevics said in a statement last September that the treatment of Crimean Tatars by Russian authorities on the peninsula is "in essence ethnic cleansing."
Since Russia took control of Crimea, Russian authorities have banned many Tatar community demonstrations. Russia also banned the long-time leader of the Tatar community Mustafa Dzhemilev from Crimea for at least five years.