Tatar Nationalists Claim Harassment By Russian Security Officers
January 05, 2009
CHALLY, Tatarstan -- Activists involved in the Milli Mejlis, the self-proclaimed pan-Tatar parliament, say they were threatened by Russian Federal Security Service officers on January 4.
Parliament Chairwoman Fauziya Bairamova told RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service that the officers interrogated her, accused her of inciting interethnic hatred, and spent three hours ransacking her apartment, confiscating her personal belongings, photos, documents, writings, and personal computer.
Bairamova says the accusation is connected to a resolution adopted by the Milli Mejlis on December 20 that urges the international community to recognize Tatarstan as a sovereign state.