Crimean Tatar Leader Barred from Entering Russia

Mustafa Dzhemilev, the leader of Crimean Tatars, has been refused entry into Russia, Crimea included.

Russian authorities have imposed a ban on Dzhemilev, who is an MP from Prime Minister Yatsenyuk and presidential candidate Tymoshenko's Batkivshchina, until 2019, RBC Daily has reported, citing the Mejlis (the Tatar assembly).

The Tatar leader learned he would be denied entry when trying to return to Crimea after a visit to Kiev.

At the "borders" of the peninsula, which now serve as de facto borders between Russia and Ukraine, soldiers handed him an document stating he would not have the right to stay in Crimea for the next 5 years.

The document did not seem to be signed, but after Dzhemilev received it, he was not allowed to continue. Russian authorities have so far refused to comment on the issue.

Crimean Tatars amount to 12% of the peninsula´s population and have repeatedly expressed fears of oppression after the autonomous region was incorporated into the Federation.