{"id":22976,"date":"2025-11-11T12:14:38","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T20:14:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vilni-media.com\/?p=22976"},"modified":"2025-11-11T12:27:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T20:27:12","slug":"krymskotatarska-fundatsiia-ssha-zaklykala-konhres-ssha-vyznaty-zlochyny-rosii-v-krymu-henotsydom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vilni-media.com\/en\/2025\/11\/11\/krymskotatarska-fundatsiia-ssha-zaklykala-konhres-ssha-vyznaty-zlochyny-rosii-v-krymu-henotsydom\/","title":{"rendered":"Crimean Tatars Call on the U.S. Congress to Recognize Russia\u2019s Crimes as Genocide"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"A delegation of the Crimean Tatar Foundation USA has addressed the U.S. Congress, urging lawmakers to recognize and respond to the systematic persecution and genocide of the Crimean Tatar people in Russian-occupied Crimea. The Foundation emphasized that official channels have failed to act effectively \u2014 leaving small nonprofit organizations to independently collect evidence, speak before legislators and diplomats, and demand recognition of genocide.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

This was <\/span>reported<\/span><\/a> by the Crimean Tatar Foundation USA Inc.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cThe delegation of the Crimean Tatar community is once again in the U.S. Congress. We are telling members of Congress the truth that everyone needs to hear. And here\u2019s the question every single congressman \u2014 both Democrat and Republican \u2014 asks: \u2018Why are we only hearing this from you?\u2019 This question reveals a harsh reality \u2014 when the story of genocide is told by just one nonprofit organization.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

The Foundation\u2019s appeal details the scale of repression: every second Crimean Tatar family has experienced interrogations or intimidation; Crimean Tatars are persecuted 4.8 to 12.2 times more often than other groups; and 59.2% of all political prisoners in Crimea are Crimean Tatars, though they make up only 10\u201326% of the peninsula\u2019s population.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The organization also reported that no Crimean Tatar prisoners of war have been released in exchange processes, and that sentences of up to 29 years are being handed down merely for serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.<\/span><\/p>

The statement highlights the rampant hate speech against Crimean Tatars in Russian media and Telegram channels \u2014 including calls for \u201cthe final solution of the Crimean Tatar question,\u201d \u201ca repeat of the 1944 S\u00fcrg\u00fcn (deportation),\u201d and even incitements to \u201critual killings\u201d that receive thousands of reactions online.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cThis is a direct violation of the Third Geneva Convention and a manifestation of extreme hatred. We presented evidence of systemic discrimination against Crimean Tatar soldiers \u2014 they are deliberately excluded from exchange lists, and sentences reach 29 years simply for serving in Ukraine\u2019s army. Since 2014, not a single Crimean Tatar soldier from the Noman \u00c7elebicihan Battalion has been returned from captivity as part of a prisoner exchange,\u201d the statement notes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The Foundation provided Congress with court verdicts, medical records documenting torture, and lists of prisoners of war and political detainees, including Ernest Baranov, Appaz Kurtamet, Bohdan Zyza, Khadija Buyukcha, Arsen Ibrahimov, and others.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Representatives of the Foundation stressed that without official recognition of genocide, victims and civil society are forced to take on the responsibility of documenting crimes themselves \u2014 mothers of the missing study the Geneva Conventions, relatives of political prisoners learn sanctions mechanisms, and survivors become self-taught lawyers and diplomats, all without adequate state support.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cFor eleven years now, a systematic destruction of the indigenous people of Ukraine \u2014 the Crimean Tatars \u2014 has been taking place in occupied Crimea. This is not merely a conflict; it is a deliberate campaign of extermination. We are doing everything possible to ensure this truth reaches the highest levels of power,\u201d the statement underscores, calling for international recognition of the genocide.<\/span><\/p>

The Foundation\u2019s appeal includes specific demands to the leadership of Ukraine and its international partners:<\/span><\/p>