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Crimea and Sevastopol

Crimea’s prosecutor provides evidence of Crimean Tatar Mejlis’ extremist activity

According to Poklonskaya, the Mejlis has been carrying out extremist activity since the early 2000s including mass riots and alleged blasts of electricity transmission towers that led to a blackout

Crimea’s Prosecutor Natalia Poklonskaya Ruslan Shamukov/TASS

Crimea’s Prosecutor Natalia Poklonskaya

© Ruslan Shamukov/TASS

SIMFEROPOL, March 3. /TASS/. The Board of the Crimean Supreme Court has started examining a lawsuit filed by Crimea’s Prosecutor Natalia Poklonskaya on recognizing the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People as an extremist organization, a TASS correspondent reports from the court.

Before the court’s sitting, Poklonskaya submitted over 500 pages of materials, which, as she said, were proving the Mejlis’ extremist nature.

"As the court requested materials on some proofs indicated in the lawsuit, the republican prosecutor’s office submitted the said documents on March 2 to the Crimean Supreme Court’s Office," Poklonskaya said during the court’s session.

Read also

Crimean official calls Mejlis of Crimean Tatars "destructive organization"

"I’m requesting the court to add the certified copies of the documents on a total of 562 pages and seven compact discs to the case as proofs," the Crimean prosecutor said.

Poklonskaya filed the lawsuit to the Crimean Supreme Court on February 15. On the same day, the prosecutor handed over a copy of the document to Deputy Chairman of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis Nariman Dzhelyalov.

According to Poklonskaya, the Mejlis has been carrying out extremist activity since the early 2000s. Its supporters have numerously organized actions to block municipal bodies of power, police stations and the prosecutor’s office.

The Mejlis leaders are accused of staging mass riots on February 26, 2014 near the Crimean parliament. Also, the Mejlis is suspected of organizing the blasts of electricity transmission towers in the Kherson Region in east Ukraine that led to a complete blackout of the Black Sea peninsula overnight to November 22, 2015.

"We have submitted proofs [to the court] evidencing the unlawful activity of the Mejlis leaders. They include subversion acts committed on November 20 and 21 by Mejlis representatives Lenur Islyamov, Refat Chubarov [the Mejlis chairman] and Mustafa Dzhemilev. These proofs also relate to some other crimes and offences committed by the leaders and members of this public movement," Poklonskaya said in reply to a TASS question.

The court has given Mejlis members time to get acquainted with the materials of the case and the court’s next session has bene scheduled for March 10.

Mejlis Chairman Refat Chubarov is currently staying in Ukraine. A criminal case has been opened against him in Russia on the charges of calls for breaching Russia’s territorial integrity. Criminal cases on various charges have also been opened against Mejlis members Mustafa Dzhemilev, Lenus Islyamov and Akhtem Chiigoz.

The initiative to ban the Mejlis has also been supported by Crimean Head Sergei Aksyonov and Parliament Speaker Vladimir Konstantinov.

Read also

Crimean Tatars’ Mejlis may be outlawed for extremism

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Crimea and Sevastopol

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