Aug. 17, 2025, 9:45 p.m.
(Abibulla Smedlyaev. PHOTO: Crimean Solidarity)
Participant in the case of the 'fourth Dzhankoy group' Hizb ut-Tahrir Abibullah Smedlyaev complained about the lack of medical care in the Simferopol Detention Center-2.
This was reported by 'Krym.Realii'.
The information was made public in a letter from the Crimean Tatar to his wife Linise Smedlyayeva. According to the Crimean Solidarity, before his arrest Smedlyaev did not have time to treat his tooth, but the prison hospital refused to treat him. He was also not allowed to visit an ophthalmologist. The administration of SIZO-2 responded to his application: "It is not allowed".
Smedlyayeva reported that her husband was diagnosed with myopic astigmatism of the right eye and myopia of the left eye before his imprisonment. His glasses broke shortly before his arrest, and he is not given eye drops. According to her, the political prisoner has severe eye pain. The wife appealed to the administration of SIZO-2 with a request to provide medical assistance. The head of the detention center said that her application had been forwarded to the medical unit.
Hizb ut-Tahrir is an Islamic political party recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia. According to human rights activists, the Crimeans are being persecuted not because of terrorism, but because of their activity and disagreement with Russian policy on the peninsula. The party is not banned in Ukraine and operates legally.
On February 5, Russian security forces searched the homes of five Crimean Tatars: Rustem Mustafayev, Bakhtiyar Ablaev, Mirzali Tajibayev, Abibula Smedlyaev and Emir Kurtnezirov. All the detainees were sent to Simferopol SIZO-2 on the same day. All five were charged with participation in the party's activities.
Meanwhile, in Bakhchisarai, the occupation court extended the arrest of the defendants in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case. Abdulmedzhit Seytumerov, Ametkhan Umerov, Eldar Yakubov, Seydamet Mustafayev, Remzi Nimetullayev and Ruslan Asanov will remain in pre-trial detention until November 23, 2025. The defense, referring to the lawyer Emil Kurbedinov, argues that the prosecutor's request for the extension of the arrest did not contain sufficient justification. According to the lawyer, the prosecution did not provide evidence that would justify the extension of detention, and did not explain why softer preventive measures, such as house arrest, could not be applied.
Катерина Глушко
March 17, 2026
The number of public associations has decreased in Crimea during the years of occupation