ECtHR begins consideration of cases concerning the ban on the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people
Kyiv • UNN
The European Court of Human Rights has initiated official communication in cases concerning the ban on the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, imposed by the occupying authorities of Crimea in 2016. The purpose of the complaints is to recognize the illegality of the Mejlis ban and the systemic pressure on the Crimean Tatar people.
On Monday, October 20, the European Court of Human Rights began official communication in cases concerning the ban on the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, imposed by the occupying authorities of Crimea in 2016. Appeals to the Court were filed by both representative bodies of Crimean Tatars and individual citizens. This is reported by UNN with reference to the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.
Details
Eskender Bariiev, head of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center and a member of the Mejlis, reported that back in 2017, with the assistance of the CTRC, 17 individual applications were submitted to the ECHR - from individuals, the Kherson regional Mejlis, local Mejlis, and other self-governing bodies of Crimean Tatars. A separate application was also submitted by the Mejlis itself with the support of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union.
Eight years have passed, and finally these cases began to be actively considered this year. Such a long wait for the start of consideration is due to the Court's position that individual cases will be considered only after the consideration of interstate cases "Ukraine against Russia" regarding Crimea, the decisions in which were made in June last year.
According to Bariiev, the purpose of the complaints is to achieve recognition not only of the illegality of the Mejlis ban, but also of the systemic pressure on the Crimean Tatar people, which is part of the genocidal policy of the Kremlin and an attempt to destroy its self-governing system.
In the summer of 2025, the CTRC submitted additional evidence to the ECHR of the persecution of members of the Kherson regional and local Mejlis. Some activists are currently behind bars, some were forced to leave the territory due to torture and persecution, and those who remained live under constant control of the occupation administration.
The applicants' interests in the ECHR are represented by lawyer Borys Babin. He noted that the case is complex, as issues of indigenous peoples' rights have almost not been considered by the Court before.
The most dramatic, in my opinion, here were the cases of the local Mejlis of Kherson region, who in 2017 wrote to the European Court precisely about the risks of future Russian aggression against mainland Ukraine and further predicted oppression of Crimean Tatars there by the occupiers, which happened since 2022.
Eskender Bariiev, Chairman of the Board of the CTRC, noted that the key points in the case regarding the ban on the Mejlis are as follows: the ECHR requested information from Russia by January 21, 2026, although a response is unlikely. The Court recognized the Mejlis as a representative body of an indigenous people, which is important for legal struggle and strengthening its status. The ECHR also invited Ukraine to join the case as a third party to express its position and protect the rights of Crimean Tatars.
Recall
Refat Chubarov stated that the main efforts of the Mejlis are aimed at protecting Ukraine's sovereignty and the earliest possible liberation of Crimea. The Mejlis also controls the issues of preserving the language and culture of the Crimean Tatars.