U.S. Embassy concerned over detention of 120 Crimean Tatars in occupied Crimea

U.S. Embassy concerned over detention of 120 Crimean Tatars in occupied Crimea / Photo from UNIAN

The Embassy of the United States in Ukraine says it is concerned over the detention of 120 Crimean Tatars in Russian-occupied Crimea.

"Very concerned about Russian 'authorities' targeting and detaining 120 Crimean Tatars simply for being concerned about their fellow citizens' illegal detention. We support Ukrainian police in their probe into yet another illegal deprivation of liberties. Crimea is Ukraine," the U.S. diplomats wrote on Twitter on January 15, 2021.

Read alsoUkrainian police respond to detention of 120 Crimean Tatars in occupied CrimeaBackground

• On the evening of January 11, under the pretext of ID and car check, security operatives illegally detained 120 Ukrainians in order to prevent them from attending a court hearing in the "Hizb ut-Tahrir case," which was set to be held that morning in mainland Russia's Rostov-on-Don.
• The defendants of the Belogorsk group in the so-called "Hizb ut-Tahrir case" are Enver and Riza Omerovs, as well as Ayder Dzhapparov.
• They were detained in the summer of 2019.
• On January 12, the court sentenced Enver Omerov to 18 years in prison, his son Riza Omerov to 13 years in prison, and Ayder Dzhapparov to 17 years in prison.