Impunity Encourages Vandalism

20 March 2012

Just another act of vandalism was committed in Crimea. Graves on the Muslim cemetery were ruined and desecrated by the unestablished persons in Saraily-Qiyat (Mirnoe) settlement, Simferopol region.

On March 20, 2012 right after the information about the desecration of Muslim cemetery the residents of Saraily-Qiyat (Mirnoe) settlement, including the relatives of those whose graves were ruined and desecrated and the members of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Simferopol Regional Mejlis and representatives of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Crimea gathered in the territory of the settlement.

At the same time the officers of the investigation group of Simferopol Regional Department of the Internal Affairs of the Main Board of the Ministry of the Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Crimea and the Security Council of Ukraine in Crimea examined the site, fixing the consequences of the act of vandalism.

The results of the vandalism were complete destruction of Gulsum Memet grave, born 1920, broken gravestone of Seitkhalil Amet-ogly and the signs of damage on two other graves. In addition more two graves were destroyed, hit by the car.

According to the members of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Ali Hamzin, Zair Smedlyaev and Ruslan Ennanov who arrived to the site such barbarian acts, committed against Muslim cemeteries and mosques in Crimea become systematic.

 “The single guarantee of non-repeating of the acts of vandalism, desecrating the memory of those who dead, bring pain to the living and humiliate the feelings of the Muslims could become the unavoidability of punishment of the barbarians. Unfortunately, in many previous cases the persons who had committed the vandalism were never established by the law enforcement agencies, and correspondingly were not punished,” – Ali Hamzin noted.

Moreover, the act of vandalism in Saraily-Kiyat (Mirnoe) was not committed for the first time: in 2010 the unestablished persons burne