Crimean activist partially lost his sight in Russian colony

Crimean Tatar activist Tofik Abdulgaziyev , sentenced to 12 years, reported a partial loss of vision.

This was reportedto Crimean Solidarity by his wife Aliye Kurtametova, who received a phone call from her husband.

The man asked to call an ophthalmologist, but so far, the request has remained unanswered. In a conversation with his wife, the Crimean Tatar explained that he could not see anything with his peripheral vision, and his direct vision was blurred and vague.

''He cannot see the plate he has to eat from. To dial a number on the telephone, he asks for help. Because his finger hits the wall. Tofik cannot read and write responses to letters he receives from the jemaat," Kurtametova said.

It should be noted that Abdulgaziyev is currently a defendant in the second Simferopol group of the 'Hizb ut-Tahrir case'. In May 2022, the Southern District Military Court of Rostov-on-Don issued a guilty verdict against the man and sentenced him to 12 years in a maximum security colony, where the first five years should be spent in prison. In July 2023, he was transferred to Russia and placed in a prison in the city of Verkhnyouralsk, Chelyabinsk region.

As a reminder, in the annexed Crimea, FSB forces detained four Crimean Tatars - Esma Nimetulayeva, Nasiba Saidova, Elviza Aliyeva and Fevziya Osmanova. All of them are charged with "participation in the activities of the terrorist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir" (part 1 of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code), which provides for up to 20 years in prison.

According to relatives and lawyers, the searches and detentions took place in October. The women were arrested by a closed-door decision of a Russian-controlled court and sent to the Simferopol pre-trial detention center until mid-December. Even their relatives were not allowed to attend the hearings. According to Crimean Solidarity, the detainees are held in cold, damp cells, and are forced to remove their hijabs during inspections.

Relatives and human rights activists call the accusations unfounded and claim that evidence has been fabricated: during searches, security forces allegedly planted 'banned books', and the investigation considers only recorded conversations as evidence. Human rights activists emphasize that the girls did not have weapons, did not plan any violent actions and were engaged in normal work and study.

Катерина Глушко