Crimean Tatar Mejlis designated as terrorist entity, its activity in Russia banned – court ruling

18:21, 26.04.2016 1 min read

Crimea's Supreme Court on Tuesday designated the Crimean Tatar Mejlis as an extremist entity and banned its activity in Russia, ruling in favor of a lawsuit filed by Crimean Prosecutor Natalia Poklonskaya, an Interfax correspondent has reported.

Crimean Supreme Court Judge Natalia Terentyeva ruled that "the entity called the 'Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People' be designated an extremist organization and its activity be banned."

The court's ruling can be appealed within a month.

Crimean Prosecutor Poklonskaya has described the decision as justified.

"The decision is aimed at maintaining stability, peace and order in the Russian Federation," she told reporters.

The court proceedings as part of this case began in early March. There were four volumes of case files.

The Mejlis, which claims the status of the Crimean Tatars' legislature, has no registration in Russia.

The current and former leaders of the Mejlis – Ukrainian MPs Refat Chubarov and Mustafa Jemilev, currently reside in Kyiv. The Crimean Prosecutor's Office has accused them of being involved in the peninsula's power blockade. Several criminal cases have been opened against them.