When Mustafa Dzhemilev was named Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for the Affairs of Crimean Tatars in 2014, he gained an official title for the work he relentlessly pursued since the darkest days of the Soviet Union. Dzhemilev, a renowned human rights activist and Soviet dissident, campaigned for the right of return of the Crimean Tatars following their deportation under Stalin. As a result, he spent 15 years in prison camps in the USSR and undertook what remains the longest hunger strike on record – 300 days.

Today, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea, Dzhemilev and the Crimean Tatars face renewed persecution. The Russian annexation has been accompanied by numerous human rights violations, including beatings and kidnappings of civic activists. Crimean Tatar activists such as Dzhemilev have been singled out for persecution. As historical leader of the Crimean Tatar National Movement, his new struggle can serve to draw attention to the poor human rights situation in Crimea.

NED welcomed Jorgan Andrews, Director for Eastern European Affairs at the U.S. State Department to make remarks about the current challenges in Ukraine and Crimea. NED also welcomed Ms. Tamila Tasheva from CrimeaSOS, a grantee that received NED support for the production of the documentary film, Mustafa. Ms. Tasheva introduced the film and set the stage for an important and memorable conversation between Mustafa Dzhemilev and Paula Dobriansky. NED President Carl Gershman presented Mr. Dzhemilev the Democracy Service Medal to recognize his significant contributions to the progress of democracy around the world.

Featuring a conversation with

Mustafa Dzhemilev, Commissioner for the Affairs of Crimean Tartars, Office of the President of Ukraine
Paula Dobriansky, Senior Fellow at the Future of Diplomacy Project, Kennedy School, Harvard University

With remarks by

Jorgan Andrews, Director for Eastern European Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Tamila Tasheva, Co-founder and Chairwoman, CrimeaSOS

And presentation of the Democracy Service Medal to
Mustafa Dzhemilev.

https://www.ned.org/events/mustafa-film-screening-and-discussion/

The National Endowment for Democracy is a private, nonprofit foundation dedicated to the growth and strengthening of democratic institutions around the world. Each year, NED makes more than 1,000 grants to support the projects of non-governmental groups abroad who are working for democratic goals in more than 90 countries. Learn more at https://www.ned.org/

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