"MY DESTINY CONNECTED WITH DECTINY OF MY PEOPLE, WHICH WAS DEPORTED IN 1944..." (The last word by Mustafa Dzhemilev in Omsk trial on April 15 1976

Mustafa Dzhemilev is one of the most well-known members of the human rights activists movement of the USSR and Crimean Tatar National Movement. He was frequently prosecuted by the Soviet Communist Regime for his activity and politics. He was the consistent supporter of the development of the Crimean Tatar National Movement's contacts with human rights activists and dissident circles and promoted actively to attract the attention of governments of democratic states and the world community to the deprivation of rights of the Crimean Tatar people.

He is fluent in Crimean Tatar, English, Russian and Turkish languages.

Mustafa Dzhemilev was born in Crimea on November 13, 1943.

On 18 May 1944, M. Dzhemilev’s family was deported, along with all Crimean Tatar families from Crimea. His family lived in Andizhan oblast of Uzbekistan under open commandant surveillance up to 1955. After Stalin's death when some restrictions on movement for Crimean Tatars were lifted, his family moved under "on recruitment of labor forces" to another town of Uzbekistan - Angren. In a year, they moved to Mirzachul (which was later renamed into Gulistan), where M. Dzhemilev finished a secondary school in 1959.

After graduation from school he attempted to enter the Middle State University in Tashkent (Oriental Department), but he was openly rejected because they claimed that they don't accept Crimean Tatars in that department. During the next two years he worked as a locksmith, electric metalworker, and turner in Mirzachul repair-mechanic factory. Latter he moved to Tashkent, where he worked as a turner at the Aviation factory.

At the end of 1961, he took part in the establishment of a underground youth-student political organization "The Union of Crimean Tatar youth", in which he headed the "Historical department". Afterwards the organization was smashed and its leaders were arrested under the accusation of participating in "anti-soviet activity". M. Dzhemilev was thrown out of the factory and was taken under the supervision of the KGB (Committee of State Security).

In 1962, he entered the hydro-melioration department of the Tashkent Irrigation Institute, but in 1965, he was arrested under accusation of his nationalistic and anti-soviet ideas and a warped explanation of "the wise decision of Party and Government" on deportation of Crimean Tatars from Crimea in 1944, and his negative influence on students. He was also arrested for participation in the "Union of Crimean Tatar youth", but the main gist of the accusation, which gave occasion to his expulsion from the Institute, was a copy by M. Dzhemilev's work titled "The brief historic essay of Turkic culture in Crimea in XIII-XVIII centuries", which was distributed among students and was considered by KGB officials as nationalistic.

In May 1966, M. Dzhemilev was sentenced to 1,5 years under accusation of refusal to serve in the Soviet Army. Shortly, the imprisonment of Mustafa Dzhemilev and another Crimean Tatar political Lennar Tizikov in same prison in a suburb of Tashkent ended when they were taken to a penalty isolator under an accusation in "anti-Soviet propaganda" among prisoners. KGB officials, who arrived in camp sought to make them retract their political ideas, and threatened to extend their prison term. They stopped their efforts only when the prisoners went on a hunger-strike.

After release in November 1967, M. Dzhemilev made contacts with the participants of the newly-born human rights activists' movement in Moscow, including western correspondents, who were accredited in Moscow. He took efforts to inform the world community on the Crimean Tatars' problems. He signed along with other human rights activists the documents on protest against prosecution of dissidents, including the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Army in 1968 and so on.

In May of 1969, after detention of the well-known human rights activist General Petro Hrihorenko, along with 14 other human rights activists well known in country, M. Dzhemilev became one of the founders of the "Initiative group on human rights protection in the USSR".

He was again arrested in September of 1969. The case of M. Dzhemilev on accusation of "making up and distribution of documents, which slandered the Soviet state and social system" was added to "cases" against Petro Hrihorenko and Moscow poet-dissident Ilya Habay, who were arrested in May of the same year. However, in the course of his examination, Petro Hrihorenko was "ruled" psychologically irresponsible and was sent to a special psychological hospital of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for 5 years, and a Tashkent town court sentenced M. Dzhemilev and I. Habay to 3 years in prison. M. Dzhemilev went on a hunger-strike for 30 days as a last word of protest against the violation of human rights in the USSR, which he kept in a Tashkent investigating isolator.

After a hunger-strike with Ilya Habay, he was taken to Moscow prison "Levortovo", where they attempted to incriminate him with "parricide" under an accusation of copying and distribution of secret instruction of KGB on recruitment and work with informers, which was found during a search of I. Habay's flat. However, because of a lack of evidence, the case after 4 months of investigation was stopped.

M. Dzhemilev went at large in September of 1972, and because he "was not on way of redemption" lived under a public administrative surveillance in town of Gulistan (Uzbekistan) and worked as an engineer on a collective farm.

In June 1974, he was arrested for the third time and sentenced to 1 year in camps of strict regime under accusation of refusal to come to a military assembly. As it was later known, the real reason for his arrest at this time, was "operative information" the KGB had on the intention of M. Dzhemilev to go to Moscow to give a petition on the Crimean Tatars' problems to the President of the USA R. Nixon, who was arriving in the capital of USSR.

He spent his term in the camp under strict regime in Omsk oblast. He was sued within 3 days of ending of his term. In this time he was accused in making up documents, which slandered the Soviet system and making anti-state propaganda among prisoners. He was taken to Omsk investigating prison. As a protest, M. Dzhemilev went on a hunger-strike, which lasted for 303 days under a forced feeding through a stomach-pump. Namely, in this period due to a wide campaign for his protection, M. Dzhemilev's name became well-known outside the USSR.

In April of 1976, M. Dzhemilev at a closed trial was sentenced by the Omsk oblast court to 2,5 year in prison in the camp under strict regime. Even the academician A. Sakharov and his wife E. Bonner, who specially came from Moscow were not admitted to the court process. He was sent to the Far East, in a border camp under strict regime "Primorskiy".

A month before the end of his term, the camp administration attempted to fabricate a new "case", but when M.Dzhemilev went on a hunger-strike for 15 days as a protest, he was convoyed to Tashkent on a special plane and was discharged in December of 1977 under a public surveillance of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).

In February of 1979, he was arrested under accusation of violation of the rules of a public administrative surveillance and was sentenced to 1,5 years in prison, which was later, changed to exile for 4 years in Yakutiya. The process was closed as well. Neither relatives nor academician A. Sakharov from Moscow were admitted to the process.

After the end of this term in Yakutiya, M. Dzhemilev went to Crimea along with his wife Safinara and child Khayser, who was born in exile, but in 3 days they were evicted from Crimea and settled under a public administrative surveillance of MIA in the town of Yangiyul of Tashkent oblast. He worked as a locksmith and general labourer.

In November of 1983, he was arrested for the 6th time and sentenced by Tashkent oblast court to 3 years in camp under strict regime. At this time he was accused of "making up and distributing documents, which slandered Soviet state and political system", and also for organization of mass civil disorders, when he tried to bury his father under his will in Crimea. He spent his sentence in camp "Uptar" of Magadan oblast of RSFSR.

When M.Dzhemilev's term came to an end, a new case under "Andropov" article 188-1 of the Criminal Code of RSFSR ("Malicious disobedience to legal demands of prison administration" was initiated and he was taken to prison of Magadan. However, due to a widely conducted campaign all over the world in protection of Soviet political prisoners and some change of political course of the Soviet leadership, in this period, the process of discharge of political prisoners had been already started. M. Dzhemilev was considered guilty under the article 188-1 CC of the RSFSR at the closed camp process in Uptar of Magadan oblast in December 1986, but the sentence didn't provide for the continuation of M. Dzhemilev's term. He was given to suspended sentence for 3 years with trial period for 5 years and was discharged in court hall.

In April of 1987, at the first all-Union session of activists of Crimean Tatar National Movement, M. Dzhemilev was elected to the composition of 15 members of the Central Initiative Group of the Crimean Tatars' National Movement. In this period, he issued a half-legal monthly magazine "Vestnik Natsionalnogo Dvizhenia Krimskih Tatar" "The Herald of Crimean Tatars' National Movement".

In May of 1989, at the regular all-Union conference of activists of the Crimean Tatar National Movement “The Organization of Crimean Tatar Movement” (OKND) was established and M. Dzhemilev was elected the chairman of the Central Council of this organization. At the same time, he moved to Crimea with his family and settled in Bakhchisaray.

In June of 1991, he was elected the chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people – the single Supreme Representative organ of the Crimean Tatars at the National congress of freely elected Crimean Tatars' representatives, named as the Second Kurultay of the Crimean Tatar people, which was the first convened after 1917. In 1996, at the third Kurultay of the Crimean Tatar people, he was reelected the chairman of the Mejlis for the second term for 5 years. In March of 1998, he was elected the People's Deputy of Ukraine by the ticket of Narodniy Rukh Party (National Movement of Ukraine). He is the member of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Human rights, National Minorities and Inter-ethnic relations.

M. Dzhemilev's human rights protection and political activity was noted by many awards and honorary degrees, including international relations.

M. Dzhemilev received an honorary degree as a member of the Organization of Turkish intelligentsia (February 11, 1992, Istanbul), honored doctor of sciences of Seldzhuk University in the area of political sciences and sociology (Turkey, Konya, May 11, 1996), honored doctor of sciences of Highest Technological Institute of Gebze in the field of organization and management (Turkey, February 5, 1998).

In 1998, M. Dzhemilev was awarded by the annual prize of the UNHCR by F.Nansen for his human rights protection activity.

In August 2001, Mustafa Dzhemilev was conferred a decoration of Prince Yaroslav Mudriy V degree under the Decree of President of Ukraine.