Russian authorities raided a series of households in Crimea’s Muslim Tatar community in what locals are fearing is the beginning of a crackdown against them.
Crimean Tatars have been among the most vocal critics of the Russian annexation of Crimea and have faced closures of their media outlets and their traditional, local assembly known as the Majlis. Russian authorities have also previously raided Tatar homes, searching for evidence of Islamist extremism.
According to locals in the Strohonivka suburb of Simferopol, Crimea’s largest city, heavily armed Russian security agents arrived in the area early in the morning and started searching Tatar houses.
Tatars posted …read more
Source: Newsweek