Russia’s attempt to ban the Mejlis amounts to the ethnic, cultural and political discrimination of the Crimean Tatar people. Please endorse this protest by human rights groups

In a surprise move on Feb 15, the Supreme Court in Russian-occupied Crimea sent the case against Crimean Tatar leader Akhtem Chiygoz and 5 other Crimean Tatars back for ‘further investigation’. This came on the same day that the Memorial Human Rights Centre condemned the trial and recognized Chiygoz, Ali Asanov and Mustafa Degermendzhy as political prisoners.

Russia has formally begun the procedure of banning the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People citing as formal grounds the law on countering ‘extremism’, while claiming, in Soviet style, that this is because of requests from Crimean Tatar organizations.

The Memorial Human Rights Centre notes that even against the violations of international law linked with Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the fact that Khaiser Dzhemiliev is being held in a Russian prison is unprecedented

There have been inadequate and mostly repressive reactions from the occupation authorities to the ongoing blackout in Crimea, but also a frustrating failure from the western media to probe the legitimate human rights demands that Mustafa Dzhemiliev and other leaders have put forward

Since the case underway in Russian-occupied Crimea is in breach of Russian law, the prosecution has opted for an easier option: detention without trial. Crimean Tatar leader Akhtem Chiygoz was first arrested on Jan 29, 2015, and a court in Simferopol has just extended his detention until Jan 29, 2016. The same court extended the detention of two other Crimean Tatars – Ali Asanov and Mustafa Degermendzhy – for three months

Three Ukrainian citizens are in detention in Russian-occupied Crimea in a legally absurd prosecution which is openly targeting only Crimean Tatars. The prosecution over participation in a pre-annexation demonstration has resulted in constant searches, interrogations, and detentions - always of Crimean Tatars.

To discredit Cemilev’s reputation and the Crimean Tatar leadership’s nonviolent conflict resolution strategies, pro-Russian media invents these types of rumors to construct a space for a directed disinformation campaign

Russia’s Civic Chamber has publicly asked the Prosecutor General to investigate the Mejlis, or Crimean Tatar representative assembly for so-called ‘extremism’. This new move follows a similar threat made a month ago and ‘advice’ to the Crimean media not to mention it at all

Both Sobytiya Kryma and the Centre for Journalist Investigations are independent and present both an alternative view of events in Crimea, and information that will not be found in the mainstream Crimean media - about human rights infringements, for example.

One Crimean Tatar leader is currently imprisoned in Russian-occupied Crimea, but his fate could be shared by all others, as well as any Ukrainian national opposing Russia’s annexation, according to the argument put by Natalya Poklonskaya, the occupation regime’s de facto prosecutor.

Khaiser Dzhemiliev, the son of exiled Crimean Tatar leader and Ukrainian MP Mustafa Dzhemiliev, has been moved to a distant prison colony in the Astrakhan region of Russia

The Mejlis, or Crimean Tatar representative assembly could face a ban, making it illegal in the Russian Federation and Russian-occupied Crimea. The threat comes just days after the media in Crimea was informed that the Mejlis does not legally exist and “strongly advised” not to give it any coverage. And after an attempt to have a prominent Crimean Tatar figure taken into custody on spurious charges.

Three days into the Crimean Blockade initiated by leaders of the Mejlis or Crimean Tatar representative assembly, Crimean media have been ‘strongly advised’ not to mention the Mejlis at all, and Russian propaganda is trying to avoid mentioning Crimean Tatars taking part in the Blockade.

Crimean Tatar leaders have called on Ukrainians to join a civil blockade of Russian-occupied Crimea. The blockade will continue until Russia releases its Ukrainian political prisoners, stops blocking free media in Crimea and committing other rights offences

The sentence against Khaiser Dzhemiliev has been reduced from 5 to 3.5 years but the 33-year-old was taken to Russia illegally and should be handed over to Ukraine.

Sevastopol blogger Iryna Gorelikova has reported being hauled in for questioning after she shared a link on Facebook about Mustafa Dzhemiliev, the veteran Crimean Tatar leader and Ukrainian MP whom Russia has banned from his homeland.

Gennady Afanasyev has told his lawyer of the torture he faced after being arrested in Crimea on May 9, 2014, about the pressure and threats immediately prior to his appearance in court last Friday, and that he has faced since he retracted the testimony he signed under torture.

At a time when Russia is flagrantly violating the rights of Ukrainian nationals in Crimea, stifling independent media, arresting those who express their opposition to Russian occupation, it is vital that Ukraine helps human rights groups and foreign journalists to follow the situation, and does not obstruct their access through flawed regulations.

"Journalists and journalism are under attack in Crimea now. This has to stop. When critical journalists are silenced to the last one it will mark the end of independent journalism in the region, and my fellow Crimeans will be left face-to-face with lawlessness and Russian propaganda. The world must not let this happen."