50 thousand Crimean Tatars left occupied Crimea over 10 years - Head of Mejlis

Refat Chubarov, Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, said this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine. 

He noted that before the annexation of Crimea, about 300 thousand Crimean Tatars lived there, which is 13% of the total population of the peninsula. Currently, there is no exact figure on how many people remain on the occupied peninsula. It is estimated that up to 50 thousand Crimean Tatars were forced to leave Crimea.

"Many left because of the persecution. People are afraid for their lives, for the lives of their children and relatives. But there are also some who, for various reasons, simply cannot leave. My mother is over 90 years old. She is in Crimea, and I have not had the opportunity to see her over the years," Chubarov said.

The Head of the Mejlis pointed out that Crimean Tatars began to leave most actively when the occupation regime announced mobilization in September 2022.

"Men left to avoid mobilization. Many left with their families, some left alone," he added.

• Earlier it was reported that 107 people are being persecuted in the occupied Crimea in the so-called case of the religious organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, 104 of them are representatives of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people. 84 of them are serving their sentences in Russian prisons and colonies, while 19 are in pre-trial detention centers, 1 is under house arrest, and 3 have been released.