#qirim

May 18, 2026 marks the 82nd anniversary of the forced deportation of the Crimean Tatar people – one of the most brutal crimes of the Stalinist totalitarian regime and an act of genocide against the indigenous people of Crimea.

In May 1944, under the false pretext of alleged collaboration with Nazi Germany, the Soviet regime carried out a deliberate act aimed at destroying the Crimean Tatar people as a national community – depriving them of their homeland, language, culture, traditions, and historical memory.

Ukraine has recognized the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatar people as an act of genocide. We are grateful to Canada, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Czechia, and the Netherlands for adopting similar decisions, restoring historical justice and honoring the memory of the victims of this crime. We call on other countries to join the international recognition of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people.

Following the beginning of Russia’s occupation of Crimea in 2014, the occupying authorities continued the persecution and discrimination against Crimean Tatars who remained in their homeland. The ban on the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, fabricated criminal cases, forced passportization, pressure on religious communities, and the creation of unbearable living conditions are all modern forms of Russia’s forced displacement of Ukraine’s indigenous people from their land. Such actions constitute grave violations of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and the international legal obligations of the occupying state.

Ukraine honors the memory of all victims of the deportation and expresses deep respect for the Crimean Tatar people, who, despite decades of repression, preserved their national identity, culture, language, and unwavering aspiration for freedom and justice.

We call on the international community to strengthen consolidated political, diplomatic, sanctions, and legal pressure on the Russian Federation in order to stop human rights violations in temporarily occupied Crimea, secure the release of all unlawfully detained persons, ensure the protection of the rights of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people, and restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.

We demand that Russia immediately cease all forms of repression against Crimean Tatars, revoke the illegal ban on the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, release all political prisoners, and comply with its international obligations as an occupying state.

The memory of the 1944 tragedy remains an inseparable part of our shared history and a warning to the world about the dangers of impunity for totalitarian regimes. Restoring justice, protecting human rights, de-occupying Crimea, and ensuring the return of the Crimean Tatar people to life in freedom on their native land remain our common tasks.

Crimea is Ukraine.

Qırım – Ukrainadır.

Today, May 18, marks the 80th anniversary of the forced removal of the Crimean Tatars from their native Crimea by the Soviet authorities. This deportation is called Sürgünlik.

Today is an important day to qırımlılar but many of them will be celebrating it in Russian captivity.

Ruslan Mesutov was illegally sentenced by the occupiers to 18 years in prison on charges of alleged "terrorism".

Even though the 58-year-old man's health condition has deteriorated, he is not being provided with appropriate medical care. Ruslan Mesutov is forced to go on hunger strike, because, contrary to his religious beliefs, he is fed food with pork in it. The prison where he is being held is called a "criterion" because of its harshness. There are four people in a damp cell, who are taken for a walk on the roof of the prison once a day.

Life before detention: Ruslan Ametovich Mesutov was born in Uzbekistan, in 1988 he returned to Crimea and got a job as a turner at a factory in Alushta, where he was allocated a land plot.

Later, he brought his parents and sisters to the Crimea, married Elzara Hodzhenova, and had two sons. Ruslan was a member of the Crimean Tatar People's Movement. In the village of Malyi Mayak (Buyuk-Lambat), Ruslan organized the Muslim community "Avdet", which is part of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Crimea, and became one of the founders of the religious community of Alushta. He was a security guard at the mosque, engaged in social activities, organized Muslim holidays, helped with funeral issues, took care of paperwork, and held prayers. Representatives of the occupation authorities detained the man on June 10, 2019, along with other Crimean Tatars. The occupation investigators charged Mesutov with violation of Part 1 of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Organization of a terrorist organization"), which provides for imprisonment for a term of 15 to 20 years. And even Part 1 of Articles 30 and 278 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Preparation for the violent seizure of power by an organized group by prior conspiracy"), which provides for up to ten years in prison. In May 2020, Ruslan was transferred to the territory of the Russian Federation. An illegal sentence was handed down on August 16, 2021, and the man was sentenced to 18 years in a strict regime colony with a 1-year and 6-month restriction on his freedom after release. Mesutov was arrested two weeks before the court hearing, which was to consider the claim of the religious community of Alushta regarding the transfer of the city mosque by the occupation administration to the illegal formation of the "Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Crimea". The main real reason for Ruslan Mesutov's detention is his religious and public activities, identity, and support for his people. The 58-year-old man is being held in a Russian prison in the Lipetsk region. According to his lawyer, Siyar Panich, his client's health condition has deteriorated and he is not being provided with medical care. Since November 2022, Ruslan has had difficulties with nutrition, as pork has been introduced into the main diet. According to his religious beliefs, Ruslan Mesutov does not eat such food. The Muslims serving their sentences in this institution wrote an appeal to the administration, but the problem has not yet been resolved.

The political prisoner's Quran was also taken away from him. "The Quran in Arabic was taken away from Mesutov to be examined by a specialist, who said it was a 'normal Quran' and not an 'extremist' one. Since then, since November, he hasn't been able to get it back, and it depresses him quite a bit," said lawyer Volodymyr Bilenko.

Info from @ ppu_gov_ua

That how our people look like and behave when they're finally free from Russian captivity.

Prompts used: • Respecting indigenous peoples • Clothing and accessories • History  @yourcubitoyourculture

Presenting Pearlescentmoon in Crimean Tatar national costume and with their flag!

Crimea is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov.