Turkey condemns detention of activists in Crimea

The Turkish Foreign Ministry is concerned about February 17 detentions in Crimea and says Turkey will continue to support Crimean Tatars, according to a statement released by the ministry.
"We are concerned about the raids and detentions that took place in Crimea yesterday (February 17th). We call for ending such practices against the Crimean Tatars, who are an integral part of the Crimean Peninsula," the statement said.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry also said the country's position on Russia's occupation of the peninsula remained unchanged.

"Turkey doesn't recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea and will continue to stand by the Crimean Tatars," the statement reads.

As was reported earlier, on February 17, mass searches took place in Bilohirsk, Bakhchisaray, Simferopol, Sevastopol and Sovetskyi district in the temporarily occupied Crimea. Lenur Seidametov, Timur Yalkabov, Azamat Eyupov, Yashar Shikhametov, Ernest Ibrahimov and Oleh Fedorov were taken to the Federal Security Service Department in Crimea after investigative measures had been conducted in their houses. FSB investigators told relatives that the detainees were charged under Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (creation of a terrorist organization and participation in the activities of such an organization).

The Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea opened a criminal case on illegal searches and detentions of citizens. Criminal proceedings were instituted under Part 2 of Article 162 (violation of the inviolability of the home) and Part 2 of Article 146 (illegal imprisonment) of the Criminal code of Ukraine.