The Supreme Court of Russia-annexed Crimea on April 26 officially designated the Tatar Majlis an "extremist entity" and banned its activities—effectively ending the last vestige of autonomy for the Crimean Tatar people. The move to ban the Majlis—the representative body of Crimean Tatars—was brought by Crimean prosecutor Natalia Poklonskaya in February, and the body was ordered closed by judicial authoriities two weeks ago, before the regional high court had even ruled. Poklonskaya hailed the decision as "aimed at maintaining stability, peace and order in the Russian Federation." The body's powers had already been eroded since Moscow's annexation of the peninsula two years ago. The current and former leaders of the Majlis—Refat Chubarov and Mustafa Jemilev [9]—have been forced to flee, and currently reside in Kiev. The Crimean prosecutor's office has accused them of involvement in Tatar road blockades launched to protest Russian annexation last year. (RBTH [10], April 26; HRW [11], April 15)
Ukraine continues to claim sovereignty over Crimea, and has launched criminal proceedings against the Russian authorities for their moves against the Majlis. The criminal case was brought by the Kiev-exiled National Police directorate for Crimea and Sevastopol, accusing Russia of denying citizen equality on the basis of ethnic descent, nationality or religious belief. (News from Crimea [12], April 18)
