US Rejects Russia’s Court Decision to Ban Tatar Mejlis in Crimea

The United States rejects Russia's Supreme Court decision to uphold the ban on the Mejlis of Crimean Tatar People as an extremist organization, US Department of States spokesperson Mark Toner said in a statement on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Crimea’s top prosecutor, Natalia Poklonskaya, banned the Mejlis, Crimean Tatars’ representative body in the peninsula, as an extremist organization on April 15.

"We reject the characterization of the Mejlis as an ‘extremist’ organization and condemn the suspension of this democratic institution," Toner stated.

Following the prosecutor’s move, Crimea's Supreme Court banned the Mejlis on April 26. On Thursday, Russia's Supreme Court upheld the ban.

Crimea rejoined Russia in March 2014, after 96 percent of the peninsula's residents voted in favor of the move.

The Mejlis leaders Mustafa Dzhemilev and Refat Chubarov opposed the reunification and left the peninsula for Ukraine. They have contributed to the Ukrainian blockade of Crimea and accused Russia of violating Crimean Tatars' rights — claims refuted by Moscow.

Crimean Tatars is a Turkic ethnic group that currently accounts for an estimated 13 percent, or about 260,000 people, of the Crimean population.