Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine demanding Russian occupation authorities to cease repressions against Crimean Tatars

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is deeply alarmed with the outrageous and illegal activities of Russian occupation authorities in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea against the Crimean Tatars, resulted into massive illegal searches and groundless detention of thirteen citizens of Ukraine - representatives of the Crimean Tatar people on 11-12 February 2016.

By committing flagrant violations of human rights and freedoms of our citizens who are held hostages on their own land by the Russian occupation regime as a result of Russian military aggression against Ukraine, the Kremlin repeats today, in 21^st century, horrible Soviet 1930’s repressions and 1944 genocide of the Crimean Tatars.

It is particularly outrageous that the Kremlin tends to hide its genocide politics against Crimean Tatars behind the smokescreen of sham fight against terrorism.

Ukraine calls on the Russian Federation to stop immediately political repressions against citizens of Ukraine and release illegally detained Emir Ussein Kuku, Vadim Sirik, Enver Belirov, Eldar Selyamiyev and Muslim Aliyev.

We also call on democratic world to increase joint tangible pressure on Russian occupant-state as far as the ongoing events in the occupied Crimea are not only a flagrant violation of the international law but also a blatant disrespect to all universal human values.