SIMFEROPOL Crimea (Reuters) - Defying a ban by their new Russian-backed rulers, thousands of Crimean Tatars gathered at a mosque on Sunday to commemorate the day 70 years ago the mass deportation of their families began under the orders of Soviet leader Josef Stalin.
Crimea's Muslim Tatars are among the most vociferous opponents of Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and have condemned as "inhuman" the temporary ban on mass gatherings, which was issued just days before the symbolic date in the minority group's history.