Crimean Tatar human rights activist Mustafayev, a prisoner of the Kremlin, receives an award for fighting tyranny

Crimean Tatar human rights activist Server Mustafayev, illegally imprisoned in Russia, has received the Alfred Moses Liberty Award from Freedom House. The award is a recognition of his struggle for human rights in the occupied Crimea and a symbol of support for all Ukrainian political prisoners of the Kremlin.

This was reported by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United States Oksana Markarova.

The Crimean Tatar human rights activist Server Mustafayev, who turned 39 on May 5, became the first winner of the new international Alfred Moses Liberty Award, established by the American human rights organization Freedom House.

The award was given for his unwavering human rights activism and struggle for the rights of Crimean Tatars under Russian occupation. Mustafayev is currently serving a 14-year prison sentence in Tambov, a thousand miles from his native Bakhchisarai, in what human rights activists consider to be a politically motivated conviction.

The award was accepted on behalf of Server Mustafayev by a Ukrainian representative, who thanked Freedom House for its support and reminded them of the hundreds of other Ukrainians illegally imprisoned by Russia. Mustafayev, a coordinator of the Crimean Solidarity civic movement, has been documenting human rights violations on the temporarily occupied peninsula for many years and advocating for victims of political persecution.

Freedom House was founded in 1941 during the world's struggle against Nazi tyranny. The recognition awarded to the human rights activist has become a symbol of support for Ukraine and the Crimean Tatar people in their struggle against the Kremlin's repressive policies, which continue the line of deportations, war crimes and harassment that began during the Soviet era.

In a Russian colony, Crimean Tatar activist and political prisoner Server Mustafayev was recently held for three days in a punishment cell and then transferred to a cell block. According to his wife, the administration of the colony demonstrates a biased attitude towards him, and she called for active actions to protect her husband's rights and his speedy release.

In 2020, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Mustafayev to 14 years in prison, and the Court of Appeal upheld the sentence despite more than 45 court hearings.

Анна Бальчінос