On Thursday, November 19, US Ambassador to the OSCE James Gilmore, during a speech at the Organization’s Permanent Council in Vienna, once again called on Russia to end abuses against the Crimean Tatars and to release all Ukrainians whom it unjustly imprisoned.
Gilmore noted that Crimean Tatars constitute the overwhelming majority of those Ukrainian citizens who are being held behind bars by Russia for political reasons.
“Think of these brave Crimean Tatar activists languishing in Russian prisons. Think of the nearly 200 children of these political prisoners growing up without fathers. This behavior is being conducted on behalf of the Russian people. Are the people in Russia happy that this oppression is being perpetrated on their behalf? Once again we call on Russia to end abuses against the Crimean Tatars, to release all Ukrainians it has unjustly imprisoned and to end its oppression of civil society and attempts to silence opposition voices”,- he said.