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Human rights official: 'Crimean Tatars are threatened'

19 June 2014 11:27 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Zumrud Pashayeva – APA. Crimean Tatars are threatened.

APA reports quoting Anado Agency that the statement came from Gianni Magazzeni, a senior UN human rights official.

Mr Magazzeni said they are concerned about a number of issues that have impact on human rights in Crimea.

Magazzeni described how Tatars are “threatened” and some have felt compelled to resign from their jobs. Schools teaching in Ukrainian are also restricted in how they operate, he added.

"We all have to see the limitation of the right of expression and freedom of assembly in the context of the 70th anniversary of the deportation of Crimean Tatars," he said.

Referring to figures from UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency, he said there were more than 34,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Ukraine, at least 10,000 of whom are Crimean Tatars.