SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine -- Crimean Tatar activist Edem Dudakov has been detained in Crimea after his home was searched by Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers.
Dudakov's lawyer, Edem Semedlyayev, told the Crimean Solidarity human rights group that his client was charged with inciting interethnic hatred. According to Semedlyayev, the charge stemmed from an online post Dudakov made in 2017.
"If found guilty, he could face up to 15 days in jail," Semedlyayev said.
Ukrainian Ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova wrote on Telegram that Dudakov's residence was searched early in the morning on February 17, after which he was taken to the headquarters of the FSB's Anti-Extremism Center.
According to Denisova, Dudakov's lawyers were not allowed to be present during the search.
Dudakov is a leading member of the Congress (Kurultai) of the Crimean Tatars who in recent months has been actively raising the issue of the decrepit condition of the historic building of Hansaray (Khan's Palace).
The palace, built in the 16th century, was home to a succession of Crimean khans and is one of the best known Muslim palaces in Europe, alongside the Sultan palaces of Istanbul and the Alhambra in Spain.
Moscow's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 was vocally opposed by many Crimean Tatars, who are a sizable minority in the region.
Exiled from their homeland to Central Asia under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin during World War II, many Crimean Tatars are very wary of Russia and Moscow's rule.
Denisova condemned Dudakov's detention, calling it "another act of persecution and intimidation of Crimean Tatars."
"I emphasize that searches of Ukrainian citizens' homes in the temporarily occupied Crimea are contrary to international norms and are a direct violation of Article 5 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which guarantees everyone the right to immunity, and Article 8 of the Convention -- right to respect everyone's private and family life," Denisova wrote.
Dudakov's detention comes less than a week after a court in Russia sentenced two Crimean Tatars to lengthy prison terms on charges of being members of a banned Islamic group, a charge the Crimean Tatar community calls politically motivated.
Also last week, four Crimean Tatars were arrested on a charge of organizing the activities of Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Since Russia seized Crimea in 2014, dozens of Crimean Tatars have been prosecuted for allegedly belonging to the Islamic group.