minimalist bullet-list: KYIV, Ukraine — The plight of a Muslim minority in Russian-occupied Crimea highlights a crackdown in a region that President NAME_1 has tried to present as an example of the Kremlin’s right to Ukrainian territory. The Crimean Tatars considered the peninsula their historic homeland. Having ruled it from the 15th to the 18th centuries, they made up 12% of the area’s population of 2 million before Moscow illegally annexed it nine years ago. The area is considered occupied under international law. Nine years after Russia’s takeover of the area, rights groups are raising the alarm about what they call Moscow’s persecution campaign, pointing to alleged reprisals against members of the Tatar community in Crimea because of their loyalty to Kyiv. One of the highest-profile cases involves NAME_2, a deputy head of the Crimean Tatar representative body, Mejlis. Seven months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he was sentenced to 17 years imprisonment at the Supreme Court of Crimea for aiding the sabotage of a gas pipeline on the peninsula.  One of nearly 200 Tatars whom Ukraine considers to be political prisoners in Crimea, NAME_3 vehemently denied the charge and several rights groups, including Amnesty International, condemned his conviction as illegitimate. The State Department has also called for his release. NAME_3’s lawyer, NAME_4, told NBC News his case was “undoubtedly politically motivated.” NBC News has approached Crimean authorities for comment on NAME_3’s case and the accusations of repressions against the Tatar community but did not hear back. In 2021 on March 18, the day Russia marks the anniversary of the annexation, President NAME_1 denied there had been any reprisals against Crimean Tatars. He said accusations of harassment and rights infringements by the community are “untrue,” according to a press statement on the Kremlin’s website. Despite denials from his government, human rights groups have for years accused the Kremlin of cracking down on dissent, stifling opposition and shuttering critical media outlets. Dzhelyal’s wife, NAME_5, said she fears for her future and that of their four children, all of whom appear likely to enter adulthood before their father is freed.  In a series of messages on the Signal messaging application last week, Dzhelyal, 38, said her husband had been detained in September 2021, and for 24 hours she did not know what happened to him until she saw him in court two days later. First repeat the request without change, then give your answer.
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