Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars Ilmi Umerov has been awarded the Platform of European Memory and Conscience 2017 Prize as an acknowledgement of his battle against totalitarianism, for the ideals of democracy, basic rights and freedom and the rule of law.

"Platform of European Memory and Conscience 2017 Prize organizers included me among their nominees, something I didn't even know. It is an acknowledgement on the European level of the problems existing in Ukraine and the Crimean Tatars," he said.

Umerov said Russia's annexation of Crimea and the position of Crimean Tatars in Crimea during the occupation played a prominent role in the decision to grant him the award.

"I didn't earn it. The Crimean Tatar people earned the award," he said.

"This award is important for us, because it is an award to the entire Crimean people. It reflects the struggle that was tradition for Crimean Tatars during the USSR, when, by force, through meetings and other forms of protest, Crimean Tatars articulated its position against repression, against totalitarian regimes… Today 57 prisoners of the Kremlin are symbols of this battle," Umerov said.