France has taken into custody 33-year-old Crimean Tatar Il'nur Shagaev, who left Crimea before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The detention occurred while boarding a ferry to the UK based on a request from the Russian FSB, which placed Shagaev on the international wanted list on charges of having links to organizations banned in the Russian Federation.
The Crimean Tatar Resource Center (CTC) claims that Shagaev's case is politically motivated.
"Formally, he is accused of having links to organizations banned in the Russian Federation, but in fact, this is another example of political persecution of the Crimean Tatar people. Russia is once again trying to use Interpol to arrest Crimean Tatars for the purpose of their further persecution," the center said in a statement.
The CTC recalled the detention of journalist Gulsum Khalilova in Istanbul in 2022 at the request of the Russian Federation. She was held until Ukrainian and Turkish diplomats intervened. The CTC recommended that Crimean Tatars who left Crimea or are in the risk zone check their data in the Interpol database.
