ISTANBUL
Crimean Tatars protesting against Russia in Istanbul on Wednesday have accused the superpower of hindering religious practice in the former Ukrainian territory.
A group of Crimean Tatars chose UN Human Rights Day to accuse Russia of ill-treatment in their country.
Russia took over Crimea in March after a controversial referendum, which drew the ire of international observers as Russian soldiers occupied the region during the voting process.
Today's flag-waving demonstrators were protesting outside Russia’s consulate building in central Istanbul.
A spokesman for the group said Russia had been systematically violating human rights since the annexation of Crimea:
“The ones who stand up against Russia and its illegitimate acts are getting punished; freedom of expression and peaceful protest right have been prevented in Crimea since then,” he said.
According to Turkey’s Foreign Ministry, there are 280,000 Crimean Tatars in the autonomous Republic of Crimea, which constitutes close to 13 percent of the total population.
Celal Icten, the chairman of Istanbul Association of Crimean Tatars, told The Anadolu Agency that Russia was trying to put Crimean leaders away after seizing the regional government headquarters and parliament and "raising their own flag in Crimea."
He expressed his disappointment over Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s bringing up of the Crimea issue during his meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin last week in Ankara.
Davutoglu, together with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Energy Minister Taner Yildiz, had held a private meeting Putin.
The Turkish prime minister hailed Turkey-Russia relations as "historic" and said they would set an example for the future.
Sevile Bilgic, a Crimean forced to migrate to Turkey last year after the Russian annexation, said the situation was getting worse, especially for Muslims, accusing the Russian administration of hindering Islamic religious practice.
“We are not only allowed to hold rallies, but gather for funerals or other religious services. Russian police would disperse us immediately,” she said.
Foreign Minister Cavusoglu said in early November that Turkey was planning to send an unofficial delegation to inspect the situation of Crimean Tatars in the Russian-controlled peninsula.
He said Turkey supported Ukraine's territorial integrity, including Crimea, and thanked Kiev for the support it had extended to Crimean Tatars.
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