Russian security forces have raided the Crimean Tatar assembly and the home of one of its members. Reporting from the site, an RFE/RL correspondent said 10 police officers and six armed, masked men in military uniform surrounded the Mejlis in Crimea’s capital, Simferopol, on September 16 and were not letting anyone enter or leave the building. The Mejlis is the self-governing body of the Crimean Tatars, most of whom opposed Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March and many of whom boycotted local elections on September 14. Police inside the building on September 16 were said to be searching the offices of the Crimean Tatar newspaper “Avdet” (Return). Police also searched the home of Mejlis member Eskender Bariyev and confiscated his computers. On September 15, three masked, armed men removed a Ukrainian national flag from the Mejlis building.
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