On Wednesday, September 16, an event in support of the defendants in the so-called second Bakhchisarai Hizb ut-Tahrir case took place in Kyiv on Maidan Nezalezhnosti. The Head of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, a member of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Eskender Bariiev spoke at the event. He read out a statement by the Presidium of the Mejlis and the CTRC, which called for increased pressure on the Russian Federation in order to end political persecution in Crimea and the introduction of personal sanctions against persons involved in human rights violations on the territory of the peninsula.
The event took place on the eve of the announcement of the verdict to the defendants in the so-called second Bakhchisaray Hizb ut-Tahrir case. The activists attending the event and held posters with the words “Stop fabricating criminal cases against the Crimean Tatars”, “Stop this lawlessness”, “17 years in prison – why?”, “Religious beliefs are not terrorism,” etc.
Eskender Bariiev noted that the Presidium of the Mejlis and the CTRC are expressing their strong protest and declare that this decision will be illegal, politically motivated and criminal.
“This policy of the Russian Federation is a demonstration of the fight against dissent, as well as the religious and political beliefs of people in the occupied Crimea. In addition, the decision of the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don will testify to the ongoing repression and pressure on the indigenous Crimean Tatar people”,- Bariiev emphasized.
In his speech, he said that the Presidium of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People and the Crimean Tatar Resource Center call on the international community to increase pressure on the Russian Federation in order to end political persecution in Crimea, as well as to impose personal sanctions against persons involved in human rights violations in Crimea.
