With the support of the Mission, the First Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Nariman Dzhelyal, and the Deputy Permanent Representative, Olha Kuryshko, made a working visit to Geneva to participate in the 149th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

In his speech, Nariman Dzhelyal emphasized that from the first days of occupation, the Russian administration has been systematically violating human rights, including restrictions on the right to freedom, personal inviolability, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, and the right to a fair trial. He also noted that the occupation administration in Crimea does not present real charges but fabricates and falsifies non-existent crimes to justify its repressions.

“For ten years now, Crimea has experienced systematic searches, arrests, persecutions, enforced disappearances, torture, and cruel treatment of Ukrainian citizens. Today, at least 218 Crimean political prisoners are held in Russian captivity, 132 of whom are Crimean Tatars,” Dzhelyal stated.

The First Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis stressed that after the full-scale invasion, occupied Crimea has become a transit point for the transportation of civilian hostages, political prisoners, prisoners of war, and children abducted by Russia from the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

In concluding his speech, Nariman Dzhelyal invited the members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union to participate in the Third Parliamentary Summit of the Crimea Platform, which will take place in Riga on October 24, 2024.