Russians detain 13 Crimean Tatars in Crimea, including two journalists

The Russian authorities detained at least 13 Crimean Tatars under the building of the "Supreme Court of Crimea" in Russian-occupied Simferopol. They came to the hearing in regards to the appeal in the case of Nariman Dzhelyal and the Akhtemov brothers; among the detainees is journalist Lutfie Zudieva.

Source: Krymskii dyskurs (Crimean discourse); Crimean Process; Graty media outlet

Details: On Thursday morning, at least 13 people (10 men and three women) were detained near the "Supreme Court of Crimea". The detainees came to support Nariman Dzhelyal, Asan Akhtemov and Aziz Akhtemov. Among them were both parents of Aziz Akhtemov and two journalists.

Amongst the detainees are: Akhtemova Zarema, Akhtemov Eskender, Ablyamitov Kerim, Useinov Rustem, Kurnosov Rustem, Akhtemov Server, Useinova Seyara, Teifuk Mansur, Abdurakhmanov Nariman, Mustafa Mustafayev, Dzhelyalov Ruslan, as well as journalist Lutfie Zudieva and citizen journalist Ibragimov Kulamet.

The detainees were put on a bus and taken to the Zaliznychnyi police station for identification. Listeners, including relatives of the defendants, were not allowed into the court.

According to Russian security officials, the reason for the detention was a report to the emergency service 102 on a "violation of public law and order".

Krymskii dyskurs writes that group gatherings of Crimean Tatars are now often reported in Crimea when there are more than three participants. 

Graty reported that journalist Lutfie Zudieva, who was on their editorial assignment, planned to cover the court session in the Supreme Court of Crimea in the case of Nariman Dzhelyal, the deputy chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, and the Akhtemov brothers, accused by the Russian authorities of sabotage.

Zudieva was not allowed to enter the courthouse and was subsequently detained. In addition, 12 more Crimean Tatars, relatives and friends of Dzhelyal and Akhtemov, who came to court and unsuccessfully tried to get to an open hearing, were detained together with the journalist. Among the detainees is also Kulamet Ibraimov, the correspondent of the Grani media outlet.

During the arrest, Zudieva showed a press card and stated that she was performing an editorial task, but the police ignored this.

Zudieva was taken to the Zaliznychnyi District Police Department of Simferopol, where they tried to force her to give fingerprints and saliva samples under threat. She refused.

As a result, Zudieva was given a report on administrative offence for "participation in the mass simultaneous stay of citizens in a public place near the Supreme Court of Crimea... in order to further inform the media". This confirms that the police were aware of Zudieva's journalistic status.

Graty notes that Zudieva covers the case of Dzhelyal and the Akhtemov brothers from the very beginning and was supposed to write about the ending of this story. The editors demand the immediate release of the journalist and other illegally detained Crimeans.

Lutfie Zudieva has been cooperating with Graty since 2019. Her articles were also published on Ukrainska Pravda. Life. 

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