Following the publication of the first series of articles about the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Nariman Celâl, Ukraine’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Turkey and First Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, undertook the painstaking task of correcting our inaccuracies, errors, and “lies.” We are publishing the full version of his corrections, but we feel compelled to add our own comments under each point.

1. “And no one knows the exact number of current members as of today.”

Nariman Celâl: “The exact number is known — 32 members of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People. Until the Qurultay passes a corresponding resolution, all members of the Mejlis elected in 2013 remain in office. Of course, with the exception of Ali Khamzin, who has passed away.”

‍In previous reports, we listed the names of seven Mejlis members whose powers have been “suspended.” In addition, there are at least three Mejlis members who have voluntarily stepped down from their positions. That is why the number of active Mejlis members is a matter of interpretation. According to Nariman Celâl, there are 32; according to Ilmi Umerov, 25; and according to some Crimean members of the Mejlis, 22. Currently, no constitutional court in the world is capable of resolving this issue and explaining to the public who is authorized and in office, and what the decision on “suspension” means in this context.

2. Under this same provision, following the occupation of Crimea, the first deputy, Russian collaborator Zaur Smirnov, was removed from office and Nariman Celâl was elected.

Nariman Celâl: “Smirnov was never the first deputy. From the start of the new Mejlis’s term, there were five deputies with equal rights. It was only in March 2015 that I was elected to the position of first deputy for the first time in this Mejlis, and I remain in that position.”

‍We fully agree with this correction and add that the position of first deputy was established in 2004 and was continuously held by Refat Chubarov until he was elected chairman in 2013. However, it was Chubarov himself who postponed appointing a first deputy for himself when he had five regular deputies. Ilmi Umerov explained to us that the Cemaat did not invent this position for Smirnov, because Refat Chubarov did indeed leave Zaur Smirnov “in charge” several times during his business trips, so Smirnov was de facto regarded as the “first deputy” until 2015, when the position was officially assigned to Nariman Celâl. However, this happened for other reasons. Akhtem Chiygoz was already in prison, Ilmi Umerov was being forcibly held in a psychiatric hospital, Accimambetov and Smirnov had become collaborators, and Arslan Umerov had been living in Kyiv since 2014; so Nariman Dzhelal was the only free deputy living in Crimea, and his status as first deputy made him the de facto leader of the Mejlis on the peninsula—which ultimately became the real reason for his imprisonment in September 2021.

3. The provision prohibiting the chairman of the Mejlis and his deputies from holding concurrent positions applies to any government office.

Nariman Dzhelial: “No.

Paragraph 4.4. The Chairman of the Mejlis, as well as his first deputy, may not serve as the heads of political organizations, government bodies, commercial entities, or business structures. (Regulations on the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People).

Paragraph 4.2. The Deputy Chair of the Mejlis may not simultaneously serve as the head of political organizations, state authorities, or business entities. (Regulations on the Deputies of the Chair of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People).

Therefore, the assertion that “…a consensus has now been reached in the Mejlis — the prohibition on holding concurrent positions does not apply to elected offices” is also incorrect.”

‍This statement by Mr. Nariman is also debatable, because the provision is worded in such a way that it does not provide a clear answer: is the Chair of the Congress of Crimean Tatars the “top official” in a political organization, or not? If not, another contradiction arises. For example, where is the risk of a conflict of interest greater — serving as the director of a small private enterprise or of a large public organization with grants in the millions, which, by definition, is not a business? Therefore, after consulting with all key members of the Mejlis, the Cemaat insists that all procedural rules are enforced based on interpretations or general consensus, and that the written rules do not provide a clear answer as to what is permitted and what is not.

4. As the head of the Mejlis’s Department of International Relations…

Nariman Celâl: “No such department exists. Bariyev is the head of the Department of External Relations and Human Rights Activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People.”

‍We will strive to reproduce the names of the departments accurately, especially once they become publicly available on the official website. Currently, the names of the departments are listed separately from their heads, and the “Leadership” section lists only the chairperson and deputy chairperson without specifying which department each of them heads. In addition, we will leave open the question of whether department heads who do not hold the status of deputies are considered part of the Mejlis leadership. We reserve the right to refer to the “Department of External Relations and Human Rights Activities” as the Department of International Relations and Human Rights.

5. …and Nariman Celâl is not yet ready to write a resignation letter on his own.

Nariman Celâl: “That’s a lie; you could have asked before writing that.”

‍The full sentence in our article reads as a hypothesis rather than a statement. Furthermore, only Nariman-bey and Arslan Umerov failed to respond to our request to answer our questions, unlike all other members of the Mejlis without exception, including those in Crimea. We understand that the reason for the lack of communication is related to the extraordinary and demanding workload of Ukrainian ambassadors; for our part, we remain ready to continue responding promptly to all comments.

6. …the regulations, rules, and procedures of the Qurultay-Mejlis are still not publicly available and are known only to those who have been manually transcribing these documents for 35 years.

Nariman Celâl: “That’s a lie. https://qtmm.org/catalog-category/normatyvni-dokumenty-polozhennya-reglamenty-statuty/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://qtmm.org/catalog-tag/struktura-medzhlysa/?utm_source=chatgpt.com”

‍Here we are forced to completely refute the accusation made by the esteemed Nariman Celâl and resort to tedious technical explanations. The claim that there is public access to the Mejlis’s documents is a lie. You need to know the full URL that Celâl provided above to access the page with the documents. Searching for them via the Mejlis’s official website, qtmm.org, is still impossible. As of the time of writing this text, October 1, 2026, the “Documents” section is empty. You can try using a forward slash to go directly to the page qtmm.org/docks, which will take you to a directory where only one search filter — “Documents” — works properly. However, you cannot access it through search engines or the website’s main page. A review of the Mejlis website shows that the page linked to by the direct link provided by Celâl was recently populated, specifically in February 2026.  Public access should not be a quest involving a search on the dark web, and pages that are inaccessible (hidden) via the official website cannot be identified as active — a rule that any journalist verifying the accuracy of official institutions through websites must follow. I hope that Nariman Celâl, head of the Mejlis’s Information and Analytical Department, does not believe that anyone should have to memorize a 105-character link just to access the texts that govern the activities of the representative body.

7. …and the balance of power within the Crimean Tatar parliament…

Nariman Celâl: “In the system of national self-government bodies, the Qurultay is commonly referred to as the ‘parliament,’ not the Mejlis.

1.1. The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People (hereinafter — the Mejlis) is, during the period between sessions of the Kurultai, the sole supreme representative and executive body of the Crimean Tatar people, elected by the Qurultay from among its delegates. (“Regulations on the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People”).

‍Once again, we find ourselves in a gray area of interpretation. First, someone needs to explain what “representative and executive body” means. Since the separation of powers, executive and representative functions have been distinct. Furthermore, another deputy chairman of the Mejlis, Ilmi Umerov, believes that the parliament is the Mejlis, while the Qurultay is “an analogue of the Congress of People’s Deputies of the USSR.” Moreover, Umerov doubts that the phrase “representative-executive” was ever voted on at the Qurultay and insists that the Mejlis has always been a representative body. And here we enter a new gray area: how can we verify what was voted on and which documents on the website are relevant if even the leaders of the Mejlis have doubts? Further transparency will likely require transcripts or other forms of verification, such as online and physical access to all issues of the newspaper “Avdet,” where the decisions of the Kurultai and the Mejlis were published.

8. Zaur Smirnov, former first deputy chairman of the Mejlis.

Nariman Celâl: “I’ve already explained.”

‍We’ve explained it, too.

9. Remzi Ilyasov, former deputy chairman of the Mejlis.

Nariman Celâl: “He was never a deputy in the current composition of the Mejlis.”

‍We never claimed that Remzi Ilyasov was deputy chairman in the current composition. But he is, and always will be, a former deputy chairman, as we mentioned.

10. The Mejlis, which is a standing (or executive — it’s unclear here) body.

Nariman Celâl: “See point 7.”

‍See Cemaat’s comment on point 7.

11. The Presidium, whose powers are impossible to define…

Nariman Celâl: “Section 4.3. The Presidium of the Mejlis coordinates the activities of the Mejlis and its structures between its sessions. (Regulations on the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People).

The powers are briefly but clearly defined.”

‍Is de facto decision-making in place of the Mejlis considered “coordination”?

12. Everyone adheres to an unwritten rule — the powers of the previous composition of delegates cease after the newly elected delegates take the oath.

Nariman Celâl: “There is a clearly defined rule, namely Section 5.5 of the Rules of Procedure of the Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar People: ‘The term of office of a delegate begins on the day of their confirmation and ends with the opening of the first session of the new convocation of the Qurultay.’

In other words, a delegate’s term does not automatically end after five years. It ends specifically with the opening of the first session of the Qurultay’s new convocation.”

This is a false claim, given that there are provisions regarding the duration of the Qurultay’s term. Such a legal interpretation is valid only when specific reasons for the impossibility of holding elections are identified. Of course, we agree that this is impossible at the moment, but we insist that it is better to assume the Qurultay’s authority and draft ad hoc rules during force majeure situations such as occupation, war, and the like, rather than continue to interpret what cannot be interpreted.

13. Nariman Celâl: “I have my own perspective on many other statements, but as the author, you have the right to interpret what you have heard or know for certain at your own discretion.”

Well, and you have the right to have your own perspective.