The Russian-controlled Crimean High Court ‘has sentenced’ Refat Chubarov, Head of the Mejlis (representative assembly) of the Crimean Tatar people to six years imprisonment and a 200 thousand rouble fine. The ‘verdict’ and ‘sentence’ are both meaningless as Russia banished Chubarov from his homeland within months of its invasion, and the ‘trial’ was held in absentia. They are also legally absurd since Chubarov was tried under Russian legislation over a perfectly legal demonstration that took place on Ukrainian territory and under Ukrainian law. The demonstration on 26 February 2014, however, foiled Moscow’s attempt to carry out a parliamentary coup in Crimea, rather than the invasion that has resulted in international condemnation and sanctions. It is doubtless for this reason that Russia has since carried out reprisals against individual Crimean Tatar leaders, the Mejlis and Crimean Tatars in general. Its ‘prosecutions’ over the demonstration on Feb. 26 have been overtly anti-Crimean Tatar, despite video footage demonstrating that much of the trouble that day was provoked by certain individuals from a smaller pro-Russian demonstration. This is only one of several reasons why Russia’s stubborn determination to persecute the Mejlis and its leaders is providing incriminating evidence for the UN’s International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court in the Hague, and other judicial bodies.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
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Halya Coynash: Chubarov sentenced to 6 years
Mustafa Dzhemilev (R), historical leader of the Crimean Tatar National Movement and former Soviet dissident, and Refat Chubarov, chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars, hold a flag during the celebration of Crimean Tatar Flag Day in Kyiv on June 26, 2020.
