Crimean Journalism Day: freedom of speech turned into sentences and prisons

The Day of Crimean Tatar Journalism is not just a date, but more than a century of resistance to censorship and the struggle for the right to tell the truth. From the first issue of Terciman, published by Ismail Gasprinsky in 1883, to the present day, this story continues in the face of repression, arrests and imprisonment.

This was reported by Krym. Realii.

On April 10, the Crimean Tatar community celebrates the Day of its journalism - a date that dates back to 1883, when the educator Ismail Gasprinsky published the first issue of the Terciman newspaper. It was this publication that became the foundation for the development of the independent Crimean Tatar press, which shaped national consciousness and opened the voice of the Crimean Tatars to the world.

Today, 143 years later, this tradition has not disappeared, but it has come under pressure from the Russian occupation authorities in Crimea. Journalism on the peninsula has actually become a pretext for harassment, searches, and years of imprisonment.

After the occupation of Crimea, independent media began to disappear, and the information space began to shrink rapidly. In response to this, a unique phenomenon has emerged - citizen journalism.

The Crimean Solidarity initiative brought together activists who, without professional education, began to document reality: searches, detentions, and trials. They learned from each other how to make videos, check facts, and work with sources.

Later, many of them actually became professional journalists: they cooperated with independent media, wrote reports, published books, and covered human rights violations at the international level.

According to human rights activists, dozens of Crimean Tatar journalists are currently in Russian prisons.

Seyran Saliyev was sentenced to 15 years in prison, Marlen Asanov - to 19 years in a strict regime colony, Timur Ibragimov - to 17 years, and Server Mustafayev and Ruslan Suleymanov received 14 years in prison. Remzi Bekirov was also sentenced to 19 years, Osman Arifmemetov - to 14 years, as well as Vilen Temerianov and Rustem Sheikhaliyev.

Amet Suleymanov was sentenced to 12 years despite his serious illness, Asan Akhtemov - 15 years, Ernes Ametov - 11 years. Rustem Osmanov is currently in custody, and civilian journalist Irina Danilovich also remains imprisoned.

Most of them are charged under the article on participation in the organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in Russia. Ukrainian and international human rights activists call these cases politically motivated. Many are held thousands of kilometers away from Crimea - in Russian colonies, often without proper medical care.

According to the newspaper, Crimean citizen journalists fulfill several roles at once: they are reporters, human rights defenders, and activists. They not only record violations, but also help the families of political prisoners by organizing fundraisers, keeping in touch, and attracting the world's attention.

The Ukrainian authorities and human rights activists have been seeking the release of illegally imprisoned journalists for years. In 2025, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe called on Russia to immediately release at least 26 Ukrainian journalists. For the first time, the document specifically emphasized the role of citizen journalists who risk their lives every day to cover the events of the occupation.

Анна Бальчінос