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The convicted Crimean Tatars were FREED!
On May 17, 2007, the Supreme Court of Ukraine considered the second time the case of those Crimean Tatars who were accused and sentenced because of the incident known as " Simeiz-Cotton Bar" in 2004. The Court ruled that they were wrongly sentenced based on falsified data arranged by Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, pro-Russian chauvinist political groups and officials of Crimea. (For details, see http://www.azatliq.net/)Several days ago Elvis Kurtametov, previously sentenced to 5 years, was released before the expiration of his term of imprisonment (little bit more than 3 years instead which was established by the court). As a result, all jail terms between 4 and 8 years were reduced to 3,1 - 3,2 for other three compatriots: Lenur Malayev, Fahri Khalilov, Simar Khayredinov. It means that in a few days they will be again free and back in Crimea. The most important point is that the Supreme Court in it's resolution officially recognised that they were not physically in "Cotton Club," which means that all allegations of Azatliq against Ukrainian militia, Prosecutor office and local courts were totally right and justified. This case really was completely insinuated by Ukrainian State in order to oppress Crimean Tatars involved in land protests. Kurtseit Abdullaev's term of jail was reduced from 9 to 5 years of imprisonment. We hope that we'll be able to improve his situation even more.Of course Azatliq campaign put forward the goal of bringing total justice to our compatriots, to have them declared not guilty. However, this may never be possible if the intent is the prosecution of Crimean Tatars for their political struggle and their rights in Ukraine. Nevertheless we made the Ukrainian State to take a step back.On behalf of Executive Committee of Azatliq, I express our gratitude to all those who were helping us in this case and congratulate all compatriots all over the world with this very important victory in our struggle.

Crimean Tatars claiming land were attacked by police! On 18 Jan 2007 at 3 am the site huts raised by Crimean Tatars claiming theirland rights in Balaklavskaya Street, Simferopol were attacked by police (about 80people) and about 200 Cossacks. There were about 40 Crimean Tatars.Cossacks had cloistered spades and pickets, they chucked out CrimeanTatars from the site huts and put a fence. But Crimean Tatars didmanage to break the fence and force Cossacks out. There are two Crimean Tatars seriously wounded.

The group opposing the Crimean Tatar Meeting








The Crimean Tatar Participants














CLASHES SPARKED OFF OVER THE ISSUE OF A MARKET ON A HOLY PLACE

By Idil P. Izmirli / US IREX IARO Researcher

12:30 : On July 8, 2006 there took a major conflict between the members of the Russian Community (Russkaya Obshina); the Cossacks with unknown origin and the Crimean Tatar protesters who were picketing in front of the Bahce Saray Market that has been built on a Crimean Tatar holy place "Azizler" (The Saints).

This Market, which has been built on a Muslim holy place, was creating a lot of controversy for Crimean Tatars for a while now. For the last month, the regional Mejlis members as well as the other Crimean Tatars, including Idris Asanin, have been trying to resolve this issue peacefully and were conducting negotiations with the authorities. When the court case that Tatars filed for this issue also resulted unconstructively, the Bahce Saray regional Mejlis decided to organize a protest and picket the Market that does not only include the Market itself but also the toilets that are located near the Muslim holy stones. However, when the Crimean Tatar picketers locked the Market gates and started to protest in front of it, the members of the Russian Community and the Cossacks also appeared on the scene quickly. They were well prepared. They first closed the roads between Bahce Saray and other cities, including Simferopol, to block the paths for other Crimean Tatars to arrive in Bahce Saray. Then they started to attack on the isolated Crimean Tatar picketers and beat them up heavily under the watchful eyes of Ukrainian BARS and BERKUT police forces, which also arrived at the market place. While the attackers were beating up the Crimean Tatars and breaking up their Crimean Tatar flag polls, they were also carrying signs that stated: Luggage, Train station, Baku and Uzbekistan. The message was clear: they wanted Crimean Tatars to pick up their luggage and go to Uzbekistan; i.e. a new deportation.

As a result of this provocative attack, 10 Crimean Tatars, including the president of the Bahce Saray regional Mejlis Ahtem Ciygoz and his brother were hospitalized.

Crimean Tatars will try to bring this issue up with the authorities on July 10, 2006. If the issue cannot be resolved with the authorities, on July 11, 2006 Tuesday, there will take another protest at the market by the Crimean Tatars.
12:30 - 10.07.2006 - Simferopol, Crimea

Taken from www.qha.org.ua

On June 22, 2006, a Joint Protest Meeting by the Crimean Tatar Milli Mejlis and Azadliq Action Committee is Scheduled to Take Place in front of the Appeal Court on Pavlenko Street # 2, Simferopol, Crimea

By Idil P. Izmirli
US IREX IARO Scholar
Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine

On June 17, 2006 the members of the Azadliq Action Committee met with the members of the Crimean Tatar National (Milli Mejlis) at the Crimean Tatar Theater in Simferopol. As a result of this 4-hour meeting, the Milli Mejlis and the Azadliq Action Committee members decided to organize a joint protest action meeting in support of the six Crimean Tatars, who are still in prison for their involvement in Simeiz and Cotton Club events. The protest meeting will take place on June 22, 2006, in front of the Appeal Court of Simferopol, which is located on Pavlenko Street, # 2.

According to Azadliq and Milli Mejlis, these imprisoned Crimean Tatars are not the ones who were really involved in Cotton Club and Simeiz events. Kurtseid Abdullayev, who is in his fifties, is a well-known Crimean Tatar National Movement member who took part in 1987 nonviolent demonstration with Mustafa Cemilev, in the Red Square in front of the Kremlin in Moscow. After his return to Crimea, he was heavily involved in self-acquisition (samo-zaxvat) and later field protests (polyana protesta) movements with other activists who are squatting on certain unused lands until the Ukrainian government agrees to grant them the ownership of those lands for Crimean Tatar resettlement. According to the Crimean Tatar leaders that is the real reason behind Abdullayev's imprisonment under the pretences of the Simeiz events.

Based on the decision of the Central District Court of Simferopol, Kurtseid Abdullaev was sent to prison for 9 years for the organization of both (Simeiz and Cotton Club) events.

The other five prisoners are young Crimean Tatars, who have been found guilty in their involvement in Simeiz and Cotton Club events without any proof. Based on the decision of the Central District Court of Simferopol, the five young Tatars who were sent to jail as follows”

Simar Hayreddinov – 8 years in prison
Lenur Malayev – 7
Elvis Kurtametov – 5 years
Fahri Seidhalilov – 3,6 years
Dilyaver Maksudov – 1.5 years (He is already out of the prison for he fulfilled his 1.5 year sentence).

On June 22, 2006, there is expected to be 5,000 protestors in front of the Simferopol Apeal Court. On that day, the Appeal court will review their previous decisions about the six imprisoned Crimean Tatars. Crimean Tatars are doubtful about this court review; for the cases will be reassessed by the same judges who sentenced and imprisoned the six Crimean Tatars in 2004.

Oleg Rodivilov against Qirim Sedasi (Golos Qirima/Voice of Crimea) newspaper: the court case will take place on June 19, 2006 at 4 pm in Simferopol

By Idil P. Izmirli
US IREX IARO scholar
Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine

On June 19, 2006 (today) at 4 pm there will be a court case in Simferopol that will overview the complaints of Oleg Rodivilov, the head of the Russian Community in Crimea and the member of the Crimean Presidium, against the Golos Qirima newspaper. This is the continuation of the court case that has been going on for several years. At first, the court case was initiated by Oleg Rodivilov on March 31, 2000. At the time Rodivilov complained that some anti-Russian materials published in Golos Qirima that could inflame violence in the peninsula. One of these materials in question was an article of a Crimea Tatar historian Erik Qudusov titled "Bolshevik cruelty and its roots" that was published in Golos Qirima on March 10, 2000.

Oleg Rodivilov is a known supporter of Victor Yanukovych. Rodivilov was one of the organizers of the anti-Orange Revolution demonstrations that took place in the Lenin Square of Simferopol in November 2005, one year after the orange revolution. At the time, Rodivilov and the organizers of the Russian Blok Party called for president Yushchenko and his wife "the American" to go to the America chanting "suitcase, train station, America." Rodivilov is also one of the Crimean Parliament members who strongly supported the anti-NATO demonstrations in Feodosia regarding Sea-Breeze 2006.

25 year-old Crimean Tatar man was shot by two civilian police officers in old Town (Eski Sehir), Simferopol, Crimea (June 13, 2006)

By Idil P. Izmirli

Arsen Aciasan who works as a gas station attendant in Simferopol went to pray at the Kadiyat Din Cemiyeti (Mala Fontan Religious Center) at the old Town (Eski Sehir) of Simferopol. After the afternoon namaz prayer, he wanted to spend some time with his brethren before he went to work again. When he realized that he did not have a pack of cigarettes, he decided to go to the nearest grocery store to buy a pack. While he was entering the store through the narrow doors of the grocery store, his shoulder accidentally rubbed the shoulder of the one of the two out-going customers who was in civilian cloths. According to the eyewitness account, this led to a violent reaction and the outgoing customer who was in fact a police officer who was in civilian cloths started beating on Arsen. As a young man, Arsen reacted on the beating and pushed one of the guys to the side and started to walk away from the grocery store. Before he was able to go far, one of the two civilian police officers s pulled up a gun and shot the 25-year old from his chest. Consequently, Arsen tried to get away from the area, when he was shot from the back of his leg one more time by the civilian officer. After the shooting, Arsen was taken to the Simferopol’s 6th State Hospital (Shestoi-gor Bolnitsa) and was operated.

After the shooting the two civilian police officers were arrested. After their arrest, it was pronounced that the the alchohol level in their blood was high, and that they were drunk. Since the police officers were in civilian cloths, by law, they did not have a right to carry their guns with them.

Mustafa Cemilev, the chairperson of the National Mejlis, came to the scene of shooting and talked to the members of the Mala Fontan Religious Center about the shooting of Arsen Aciasan who resides in Fontan micro-district (micro-raion) with his mother, father, sister, and totally blind grandmother. According to the hospital attendants, Arsen is currently doing okay.

These conflictual events are creating unrest among the majority of the Crimean Tatar returnees who are already worrying about the recent anti-NATO protests in Crimea that is influencing the summer season negatively. Every year ten thousands of internal and external vacationers spend time in Crimea and help the economy. The majority of the Crimean Tatars who cannot find an employment in their own professional specialty, are economically dependent on the summer vacationers. During summers they sell homemade goodies and food/produce in the beaches or roadsides and they live on that money during the winter. Crimean Tatars welcome NATO in Crimea, which met a strong opposition by the supporters of the Party of Regions (Yanukovych) and the Block of Nataliya Vitrenko.

Source: Crimea-L

On June 15, 2006, Sinaver Qadirov, the Azadliq Action Committee member and a former Mejlis deputy, was asked to pay 510 grivni as a penalty for his involvement for the restoration of the Azadliq Information Tent in Simferopol’s Lenin Square.

The tent was first put on the Square on May 13, 2006. Then it was moved to the side of the Square because of a book exhibition that was going to take place in the Square on May 23, 2006. Consequently, on May 26, 2006, Simferopol J-D Vokzal District Court's unexpectedly decided on the removal of the Azadliq Information Tent from the Lenin Square and sued Sinaver Qadirov for his involvement in the reconstruction of the tent at the side of the Square during the book exhibition.

According to Qadirov, he was not the organizer of the tent reconstruction and he was just at the Square for some other business during the resconstruction of the tent. Qadirov states that there is in fact a video tape that proves this fact. This video tape was taken by two Crimean police officers who were at post at the time of the reconstruction of the tent. When Qadirov inquired about this video tape to prove his innocence, he was informed that the tape was somehow got lost in the process and those two officers who shot the video tape have moved out of Crimea.

Azadliq Action Commitee members are concerned that Qadirov could be the second scape goat (after Kurtseid Abdullayev) of these latest conflictual events in Crimea

Source: İdil Noyan İzmirli, taken from Crimea-L

Freedom for Our Heroes who stopped Skinheads, Freedom for Political Prisoners

Azatlık Information Tent in Lenin Square

A view of the Azatlık Information Tent on 15 May, 2006

On May 26, 2006 the Simferopol Rail-Road District Court (J-D Vokzal raion) decided that the AZADLIQ information Tent that was put on the Lenin Square in Simferopol 3 weeks ago was a hazard for peace and ordered its removal from the Central Lenin Square of Simferopol immediately.

By idil P. Izmirli
IREX IARO scholar. Simferopol, Crimea

AZADLIQ Information Tent was put on the Lenin Square to distribute information on the judicial issues and help to Crimean Tatar who need help with their problems in regards to land issues. In fact, on May 18, 2006, during the 62nd Day of Mourning, Mustafa Cemilev, the leader of the Crimean Tatar National Movement and the National Mejlis in Crimea pointed out the tent himself and told the 30,000 participants who gathered at the Lenin Square that those people who put up the AZADLIQ tent in the square were heroes and every Crimean Tatar with socio-judicial issues should get in touch with them if and when they need help.

In this tent, AZADLIQ Information Center participants sat daily first in cold then in burning sun of Crimea peacefully, welcomed the visitors, offered them tea/cofee and cookies and tried to help them as much as they could with their problems. They also gave moral support to the relatives of the seven imprisoned Crimean Tatars, some of whose faith are still unknown. These seven Crimean Tatars (among them a well-known member of the Crimean Tatar National movement Kurtseid Abdullayev, whose whereabouts is still unknown. Abdullayev was put in jail 2 years ago and as of today, even his relatives do not know in which prison he is located at. Currently, he needs to be brought to Simferopol for a new trial, but nobody knows where he is. Others who were jailed with him were six Crimean Tatar young males: F. Seythailov; S. Hayreddinov; Malayev L; Kurtametov E.; Maksudov D. The young ones are now in the process of being brought back to Simferopol yet for a new trial to determine IF they are guilty or not for those crimes, they were being accused of).

In the AZADLIQ Tent, was a peaceful welcoming place. In it groups of Crimean Tatars stayed for 24 hours a day. Some people who were able to stay in the tent more than others did stay in the tent more than 2 days, but mostly the exchange of groups took place in every 48 hours. When the next group came, the former group left the tent and went back to their homes and families, while the new group took their place in the tent. Most of the participants of this action were women and elderly returnees as well as the young ones who helped with the chores around the tent. Some slept in sleeping bags, some slept on the beds they brought from their homes, they ate together, and lived collectively in peace with one another and with the two members of the police force who also remain at the Lenin Square day and night. This tent housed peaceful and nonviolent Crimean Tatars, who collectively used this space as a unique protest tool.

On May 26, 2006, the AZADLIQ group decided to hold a prayer meeting in Simferopol's kebir Cami (Mosque) for the imprisoned Crimean Tatars. At noon they gathered at the mosque and prayed for their safe return home to Simferopol. They put a collection box near the entrance, where the faithful who came to pary at the mosque could leave a few grivnis for the imprisoned ones. The prayer went by peacefully. After the prayer, every thing seemed to be okay but suddenly at 4:30 pm. they were informed that the J-D Vokzal Raion (Rail Road District) Court instantly decided to open up a court case against the AZADLIQ Tent. Crimean Tatars learned about this decision at the last moment just before the court case started. They tried to inform each other with their cell phones. The court case against the AZADLIQ started at 4:30 pm, and by 5 pm. there were 50-60 cars filled with Crimean Tatars in front of the court building. They waited patiently for approximately 3 hours to hear the reason for this quick court action right after their peaceful prayer meeting at the Kebir Mosque, They also wanted to hear the decision of the judges.

According to the people who were in the court during the court process, the reasoning for this unexpected court action was stated by the judges as follows: "Since the military forces were occupied in the Lenin Square watching the AZADLIQ tent, they were not able to go to places where the real crime occurs, and thus, the AZADLIQ tent needs to be moved from the Lenin Square so that the police force could return to their normal routine." When he heard this statement, Nadir Bekirov, the head of the Judicial Division of the Mejlis stated that the Simferopol police force must be really poor for they only have two policemen who stay at the Lenin Square.

The other reasons for the removal of the tent were as ridiculous as the first one. At the end everybody was removed from the court so that the judges can decide on the issue. An hour and a half later, the judges read their decision: the AZADLIQ tent needed to be removed from the Lenin Square.

On May 23, 2006, a book exhibit started to take place in front of the Ukrainian National theater on the Lenin Square. Before the book exhibition, the AZADLIQ tent participants were approached by the book sellers and were asked to remove their tent further for, the book sellers have more space for their visitors. After a long discussion with AZADLIQ leades who were skillfully used their conflict resolution skills with the participants of the action, the tent was removed to the far corner of the Lenin Square so that the book buyers have more space when they visit the book exhibit. With this action, Crimean Tatars wanted to show the Simferopol residents that they did not want to cause a problem for anybody and that this was a peaceful protest. Two days after this big compromise, the decision of the Simferopol J-D Vokzal District Court's decision did not even make sense for the AZADLIQ supporters. While Ukraine is trying to get into the European Union, this court decision displayed that the old guards in Crimea were still in action.