Mustafa Dzhemilev
Not long ago, in connection with the Crimean blockade, we published an article about one of the Crimean Tatar leaders, Refat Chubarov . Today, we present to our readers another Tatar leader, Mustafa Abduldzhemil Dzhemilev. Unlike the former Soviet functionary Chubarov, Dzhemilev is hailed as a "martyr for the idea." It's true, Mustafa-aga, as the Tatars themselves call him, is akin to Moses, who led them to the "promised land." However, in the current political climate, even a saint cannot avoid not only corruption scandals but also direct involvement in criminal activity. Therefore, we will present here simply the facts of the Crimean Tatar leader's involvement in unsavory events over the years. However, we in no way diminish the role he played for his people and all of Ukraine. We don't deny his sometimes heroic work as a human rights activist and dissident. However, facts are facts, and they can't be dismissed so easily.
According to some reports, Mustafa Dzhemilev's father collaborated with the Nazis. There is no documentary evidence to support this, and in any case, a son is not responsible for his father. Dzhemilev himself, however, was convicted seven times, and, according to some sources, his first conviction was for rape. There, in the camps, he met so-called "politicals," who introduced him to dissident activity. This was also stated by another veteran of the Crimean Tatar movement, also a dissident, Enver Ametov. He also claims that all of Dzhemilev's subsequent convictions were political. Mustafa Aga himself claims that his first conviction was for compiling and distributing anti-Soviet literature, that is, under Article 190-1 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. Be that as it may, this article was removed from the criminal code by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR in 1989, and Mustafa Dzhemilev had the right to demand rehabilitation and the restoration of his good name through the courts. But... he didn't. And here he embarked on the slippery slope of his opponent, Viktor Yanukovych, who had "no convictions twice" and for no apparent reason. As a result, popular rumor attributed all manner of crimes to him, from gang rape to hat theft. So, in theory, Mustafa Abduldzhemilev should have defended his good name in the courts, if not for his own benefit, then at least to avoid subsequent speculation. As a member of the Verkhovna Rada, this shouldn't be difficult for him to do. Unless, of course, there's no smoke without fire. However, all of the above is a thing of the past.
Mustafa Dzhemilev in his youth
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Crimean Tatars returned to Crimea. They immediately began organizing so-called "protest sites." That is, they seized plots of land, held rallies there, and then... built their small shacks on them. When local or central authorities wanted to clear the illegally seized territories, they shouted that they were destroying their houses. After some time, the land passed into the hands of Crimean Tatar leaders, who sometimes sold it and sometimes built their own homes on it. And "protest sites" were organized in new locations. These actions were supported by the Mejlis, whose leader at the time was Mustafa Dzhemilev. He declared at the time that the Tatars had been deprived of their land back under Stalin, and that the Ukrainian leadership was not caring about its people, so the unfortunate Tatars were forced to take back their land in such an illegal manner. He privately claimed that neither the Mejlis nor Dzhemilev personally had any involvement in these illegal seizures. This is a lie. Below is a photograph of Mustafa Aga's house, located in Bakhchisaray. It measures almost 180 square meters, and it stands on precisely this type of illegally seized land.
house of Mustafa Dzhemilev in Bakhchisarai
Dzhemilev is also lying about Ukraine not caring about the Crimean Tatars. Back in the mid-1990s, the government allocated funds for the resettlement of repatriates. The problem is, the money never reached them. It ended up in entities close to Mustafa Abduldzhemil—the Crimea Foundation and Imdat Bank. The Crimea Foundation was initially a public organization created specifically to assist Crimean Tatars; it was later reorganized into a private foundation, with Dzhemilev himself becoming its sole owner. Most interestingly, this foundation held the building housing the Mejlis, donated by the Ukrainian authorities. Thus, the Mejlis building belonged to Mustafa Dzhemilev personally before the annexation of Crimea. The story of Imdat Bank is even more interesting. This was once the name of an ethnic Tatar organized crime group, to which Mustafa Aga was rumored to have had direct ties. They provided security for him and other Mejlis leaders. Furthermore, Tatars guarded one of the leaders of Crimea's most notorious criminal group, Oleg Dzyuba (Alik), and participated in the struggle for leadership within the Crimean criminal community. This organized crime group operated primarily in Bakhchisarai, but also had branches in other Crimean cities. The group's primary focus was racketeering and extortion among its fellow tribesmen, that is, the Crimean Tatars. Later, thanks to the efforts of Gennady Moskal (more about him in the article " Gennady Moskal: The Many-Faced, Foul-Worded General ") , the bandits in Crimea were eliminated, but some of them went legal, becoming businessmen and bankers.
Mustafa Dzhemilev, leader of the Imdat organized crime group
Rumor has it that Moskal started the conversation simply—he gathered everyone in practically every office and announced that he'd received unlimited powers from "Papa" (his reference to then-President Leonid Kuchma). Some took this seriously and legalized their status (like Lev Mirimsky, who had first "properly" married), others decided to flee abroad (Vyacheslav Shevyev, the leader of the Salem organized crime group and head of the PEVC party), and others cursed Moskal out and ended up in prison for many years (Sergey Voronkov, also a leader of the Salem organized crime group, nicknamed "Voronok"). And some of the "sons of the old guard" already had the necessary family connections (why do you think Leonid Danilovich's daughter, Elena, is named Franchuk? Even though she's now married to Viktor Pinchuk ( read more about him in the article " Victor Pinchuk: Ukraine's Richest Son-in-Law ")? It's simple – Anatoly Franchuk was the head of Crimea in the early 90s, and then a member of parliament. His son, Igor, ran Chornomornaftogaz and was briefly married to Leonid Kuchma's daughter).
However, the leader of the Imdat organized crime group, Mustafa Dzhemilev, was not invited to this meeting. His main sponsors and handlers from abroad so intimidated "Papa" Leonid Kuchma that he forbade Mr. Moskal from even thinking about Mustafa.
Sometime in the late 1990s, a scandal involving Imdat Bank erupted in the Mejlis. The matter stemmed from the fact that all the funds allocated by the Ukrainian state for the return and resettlement of repatriates were channeled by the Mejlis leadership through the aforementioned "Crimea" fund to Imdat Bank. The 1998 crisis struck, and the bank collapsed. Along with it, the funds allocated to the Crimean Tatars disappeared. Dzhemilev's role in this matter is of interest. As early as 1996-97, some Mejlis members had pointed out that the bank was problematic and proposed distributing the funds to at least several banks. But Mustafa Aga himself took the extreme step. He declared that if the funds were transferred to other banks, he would resign as Chairman of the Mejlis. The only thing he agreed to was an audit of the bank by an independent law firm. The results of this audit were not made public and are kept by Dzhemilev himself. This sparked a crisis and heated debate within the Mejlis. Meanwhile, the bank transferred funds to nine shell companies and closed. Approximately 50,000 Tatar families were left without payments. But the case was somehow hushed up, the culprits have not yet been found, Ukraine continued making payments to Crimean Tatars, and Mustafa Dzhemilev remained at the helm of the Mejlis. It is said that it was then that he acquired his first Toyota Camry; he has two in total.
A separate story, also involving Mustafa Dzhemilev, concerns scandals involving foreign aid. The Tatars receive assistance primarily from Turks, who are close to them. For example, the Turkish public organization "Mili Firka" (People's Front), represented by its representative, Ibrahim Araci, twice transferred $50 to the aforementioned "Crimea" fund to support the World Congress of Crimean Tatars in the Turkish city of Eksisehir. As a result, the congress was held not in Turkey, but for some reason in Romania, and the Turks never received their money back. "Mili Firka" is a reputable organization, so it raised a fuss. Furthermore, there was a case of outright deception by the leader of the Mejlis, who personally and publicly stated that he had donated the money. Other Turkish organizations preferred to keep a low profile, especially since they weren't the ones being defrauded, but the intended recipients of the aid—ordinary Crimean Tatars. If you visit Crimea, you'll see the poverty these people live in, especially in the villages. And this despite the fact that, according to various sources, international organizations have allocated between one and one and a half billion US dollars in aid to the Crimean Tatars over this time. Where this money went is also unclear, but it is said that Mustafa Aga has accounts in Northern Cyprus. And these accounts are personally "managed" by the Chairman of the Turkish Labor Bank, Mr. Selami Kaçamak.
Mustafa Dzhemilev isn't responsible for his father, who, as we wrote above, may have collaborated with the Nazis. But he is certainly responsible for his son, Khaiser, who killed a man. This story is tragic in itself. Khaiser Dzhemilev suffers from mental illness. He spent five years in a psychiatric hospital in Lviv. Then he returned home. And one day, he shot and killed a man working in the Dzhemilev family's garden with a rifle equipped with a telescopic sight. Yes, this is a terrible tragedy, and yes, no one can predict the actions of a mentally ill person. But a number of questions arise. First, why was a man potentially dangerous to society placed in his own home instead of a closed clinic, and did Mustafa Dzhemilev's status as a member of parliament and his ability to exert pressure on doctors play a role? Why did Dzhemilev keep a firearm in the house, and certainly not in a safe, knowing his son suffered from mental illness? And finally, why did the investigation into this case take so long, even though the crime scene was clear from the very first minutes? Did any members of parliament or representatives of the Mejlis interfere with the investigation? It's worth remembering that the murder occurred in May 2013, and Khaiser Dzhemilev's trial took place after the annexation of Crimea in May 2015, in Russia.
Yes, it's important to note that it was Khaiser's father who coerced the label "mentally ill" into his name. According to everyone even slightly familiar with his family, Dzhemilev's son was addicted to hard drugs. This is actually evident in the photograph.
Hayser Dzhemilev
Today, Mustafa Abduldzhemil Dzhemilev has effectively retired, having handed over the reins of the Mejlis to his ally, Refat Chubarov. He remains a member of parliament, but it's far from certain that he'll be eligible for another term, as he effectively has no electorate. His entire people remain on the other side of the Crimean border. Only Allah knows how long the annexation of Crimea will last. So, there's every chance he'll die in a place other than his native land. After all, he's already quite old, 71 years old. One could say he's already history. And, like any historical figure, he has his dark spots. Of course, he has them.
Oleg Kirik, for SKELET-info
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