Crimea Court Rules Mejlis Tatar Organization Extremist, Bans it in Russia

The Crimean Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that the minority ethnic Crimean Tatar organization is an extremist organization and has banned it in Russia.

SIMFEROPOL (Sputnik) – Earlier, the Russian Justice Ministry suspended Mejlis after it was accused of links to terror groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir and Turkey’s neo-Nazi Grey Wolves.

Earlier in the day, Crimean Attorney General Natalia Poklonskaya, advocating the Mejlis ban in the Court, underscored that the Crimean Tatar group "exists only to fuel hatred and hostility."

Crimea held a referendum in March 2014, in which 96 percent of people in the region backed cessation from Ukraine and reunification with Russia.