Russian authorities have added Ukrainian singer Jamala to their federal wanted list under unspecified charges, as per reports from Russian state agencies on Monday. Jamala’s name and photo surfaced on the Interior Ministry’s database without clear details on the allegations against her.
Hailing from a Crimean Tatar background, Jamala clinched the 2016 Eurovision victory with “1944,” a song recounting the deportation of Crimean Tatars during Stalin’s era. Her performance subtly highlighted the contemporary oppression faced by Crimean Tatars under Russian control.
The Crimean Peninsula acknowledged internationally as part of Ukraine, was annexed by Russia in 2014 and served as a strategic base for Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Human Rights Watch reports relentless persecution by Russian authorities against Crimean Tatars since 2014. The community’s politically active members are depicted as extremists and terrorists, enduring harassment, threats, media censorship, legal actions, torture, and disappearances.
Jamala herself faced a ban from returning to Crimea but recently released an album dedicated to preserving endangered traditional Crimean Tatar music. She’s actively engaged in drawing global attention to the Ukrainian conflict.
During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2022, she emphasized the recurrent foreign threats to her culture, stating, “It happened in 1944, and then in 2014, and now again. Now everyone in Ukraine understands that this can happen to anyone if evil is not stopped and held accountable for its crimes.”
Following the news of the charges, Jamala posted an Instagram story featuring a photo of herself at the Sydney Opera House alongside a headline about the case and a facepalm emoji.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
