PGO launches proceeding over ban of Mejlis

The Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea has launched criminal proceeding over illegal ban of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People in Crimea.

“The Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea has launched criminal proceeding over violation of equality of citizens because of their nationality on the grounds of a crime under Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine,” the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine (PGO) informs.

As noted, so-called “prosecutor of the Republic of Crimea” Natalia Poklonskaya filed the suit to ban the activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People with the illegally created Supreme Court of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. April 12, 2016, the unlawful judgment to suspend the activities of the Mejlis was delivered.

“Having considered the claim, the panel of judges of the unlawfully established Supreme Court of Crimea chaired by Natalia Terentyeva recognized the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People as an extremist organization and banned its activities on the peninsula,” the statement reads.

The PGO notes that these actions are “unlawful since the law on ensuring rights and freedoms of citizens and legal regime in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine clearly stipulates that the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine shall be an integral part of the territory of Ukraine, which is subject to the Constitution and laws of Ukraine.”

Earlier, the prosecutor’s office of Crimea opened the criminal proceedings against the judge who had banned the activities of the Mejlis. Judge Natalia Terentyeva is charged with violation of Part 1 of Article 161 and Part 1 of Article 353 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unauthorized assuming of an office or official title).

After the Mejlis had been banned, U.S. Permanent Representative to UN Samantha Power said that crackdown on dissent in the peninsula was further escalating. She stressed that Russia criminalized all activities of the Crimean Tatars. Meanwhile, Matthew Rycroft, the Permanent Representative of the UK Mission to UN said that the Russian Federation should return Crimea to Ukraine.

The EU Delegation to Ukraine described the decision of the so-called Crimean Supreme Court as “a serious attack on the rights of the Crimean Tatars.”

Earlier, in response to criticism of a number of countries, Natalia Poklonskaya posted on Facebook that the Mejlis was engaged in incitement of hatred.

“May the international community assess the acts of sabotage, which were carried out last year, when the pylons transmitting power to Crimean peninsula had been blown up,” she wrote.