The decision by so-called Supreme Court of Crimea to prohibit the activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People represents a grave attack on the rights of the Crimean Tatars, reads a statement of the European Union released on Wednesday.

"The decision by the so-called Supreme Court of Crimea to prohibit the activities of the Mejlis, a self-governing body of the Crimean Tatars, labeling it "an extremist organization," represents a grave attack on the rights of the Crimean Tatars as a whole. It constitutes a further very negative escalation in the human rights situation on the Crimean peninsula since its illegal annexation by the Russian Federation in 2014, including as regards the persecution of persons belonging to minorities," according to a statement of the EU Delegation to Ukraine.

The document said that full compliance with international human rights standards and other obligations under international law, notably in the case concerning the Crimean Tatar community, "must be ensured without delay".