Mejlis banned from mentioning in Crimean media

The Ministry of Home Policy, Information and Communications of Republic of Crimea considers Mejlis to be a defunct organization.

According to ForPost media outlet, the leading mass media of Crimea and Sevastopol received a letter from the Ministry, where the officials refer to the address of the so-called “prosecutor” of the Republic of Crimea Natalia Poklonska.

The text of the letter says that “The Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Crimea, referring to the information of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, informs that non-profit organizations containing ‘Mejlis’ and ‘Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people’ in their name are not registered in the territory of the republic.”

It is also informed that only two public associations, which use these phrases in their names, are registered in Russia. These are “Regional Public Organization ‘Mejlis of Tatar Mirzas of the Republic of Tatarstan” and the “Regional Charity Fund to help peoples of the Muslim culture and other ethnic minorities ‘Mejlis’ (Assembly) in Moscow”.

In this regard, the Ministry urges media of Crimea and Sevastopol to stop using names or parts of names of defunct organizations in news stories, articles and interviews.

As a reminder, the ongoing campaign to block the traffic of trucks heading to Crimea with products and goods, initiated by the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, started on September 20. Holding this action, the Crimean Tatars demand to release Ukrainian political prisoners held in Russia and to cease harassment of activists and journalists in the occupied peninsula.