Three Crimean Tatar political prisoners transferred from Crimea to Russia

Monday, 2 October 2023, 12:02

On 2 October, the Russian occupiers took convicted Nariman Dzhelialov (Nariman Celâl), First Deputy of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People and activists Asan Akhtemov and Aziz Akhtemov out of Crimea and transferred them to prisons in the Russian Federation.

Source: Leviza Dzhelialova, the wife of Nariman Dzhelialov, on Facebook

Quote: "Today, Nariman, Asan and Aziz were forcibly taken out of Crimea and transferred to prisons.

I can't even imagine how difficult it is for Nariman to leave Crimea because his love for the motherland is inexhaustible. Despite the threats, he stayed and fought for the right to live freely and honestly in Crimea."

Details: Leviza Dzhelialova stressed that the occupation authorities accused innocent people "of senseless and absurd acts" and fabricated a case against Nariman Dzhelialov and the Akhmetov brothers.

She says the pre-trial detention centre employees in the last few weeks of Nariman's stay there also prevented their meetings and communication through letters and calls. Dzhelialov could only pass the message through a lawyer and assured that he was not leaving of his own free will.

Background:

On 23 August 2021, on the Day of the Ukrainian Flag, a gas pipeline was damaged in the village of Perevalne between the cities of Simferopol and Yalta, both located in Russian-occupied Crimea. A criminal case was initiated in Russia under Article 281.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (sabotage), which envisages imprisonment for a term of 10 to 15 years.
On 3-4 September, five Crimean Tatars were detained in Crimea: Nariman Dzhelial, First Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Aziz Akhtemov, Asan Akhtemov, Shevket Useinov and Eldar Odamanov. Nariman Dzhelial (Dzhelialov is the Russian version of his surname) was kept handcuffed with a bag over his head for the whole day.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed that Ukrainian intelligence officers had orchestrated and Crimean Tatars Asan and Aziz Akhtemovs allegedly carried out the bombing of a section of the gas pipeline in the Perevalnyi area of Russian-occupied Crimea and named Nariman Dzhelial as the mediator.
On 21 September 2022, the Russian-controlled Supreme Court of Crimea announced the verdict to the defendants in the "case of sabotage on the gas pipeline" in Perevalne: Nariman Dzhelialov was sentenced to 17 years in a high-security penal colony, Asan Akhtemov – to 15 years, Aziz Akhtemov – to 13 years in a high-security penal colony; all of them were also fined.
In April 2023, human rights organisations called for the prevention of deportation to the territory of the Russian Federation, illegally convicted Crimean Tatars Nariman Dzhelialov and the Akhtemov brothers, and Russia – immediately release them as citizens of Ukraine detained for political reasons.

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