Russia Bars Second Tatar Leader From Entering Crimea

Russia has barred a leading member of Crimea's Tatar community from entering the peninsula for five years.

The Moscow-backed acting leader of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, told journalists on July 7 that Refat Chubarov, the chairman of the Crimean Tatars' self-governing body, the Mejlis, has been barred from entering "Russian territory" because of his "activities to incite interethnic hatred."

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March in a move widely condemned as illegal by the international community.

Chubarov was blocked from crossing into the Black Sea peninsula on July 5 and handed an official document banning him from Russian territory until 2019.

Chubarov called it a "small piece of the huge injustice that is now taking place in Crimea."

In May, Russian authorities also barred Ukrainian lawmaker and the veteran leader of the Crimean Tatars, Mustafa Dzhemilev, from entering the region.

Based on reporting by AFP, ITAR-TASS and Interfax