Russian FSB come for 70-year-old mother of imprisoned Crimean Tatar civic journalist Seiran Saliyev
Almost seven years after Seiran Saliyev was arrested in Russia’s first major attack on Crimean Tatar civic journalists and activists, the Russian FSB have staged a similar early morning raid on the home of Seiran’s mother, Zodiye Saliyeva. It is likely that the 70-year-old veteran of the Crimean Tatar national movement was targeted for the same reason as her son – her unwavering defence of victims of repression in Crimea under Russian occupation.
The FSB turned up at around 7 a.m. on 29 August at Zodiye Saliyeva’s home in Bakhchysarai. They planned to carry out a so-called ‘inspection’ (as opposed to a search) and brought a ‘court’ warrant to this effect. According to Mumine Saliyeva, human rights defender and Zodiye’s daughter-in-law, the address written in the ‘court’ document was incorrect and so the threatened ‘examination’ could not be carried out. An FSB officer spoke with Zodiye Saliyeva for around half an hour and removed her mobile telephone. She was taken away to Simferopol, with the FSB there refusing to provide any information even to lawyer Edem Semedlyaev who arrived to represent her. He was told by the person on duty that he should write an official statement and await a response within the next 30 days. Mumine did indeed lodge an official report with the occupation police, namely that her mother-in-law was missing, after being taken away by the FSB. Crimean Solidarity reports that other mothers of political prisoners arrive outside the FSB to show their support for Zodiye Saliyeva. Such basic acts of solidarity require courage in occupied Crimea where the enforcement bodies are very likely to detain men or women, regardless of their age.
Zodiye Saliyeva later explained that she had been brought to the FSB building at 8 a.m. and was finally released almost seven hours later, at 14.25. It was almost a full day later before an FSB officer returned her phone, having doubtless scoured, and probably copied, the contents. She explained that they had grilled her about her contacts and who she speaks with, however she could say little as they had forced her to sign a non-disclosure undertaking, on pain of criminal prosecution.
This was not the first time that Zodiye Saliyeva had been targeted by the occupation ‘enforcement bodies’. In February 2022, for example, she was detained after she tried to attend the open ‘court hearing’ against Edem Dudakov, Delegate to the Qurultay, or National Assembly, of the Crimean Tatar people who was seized and subsequently jailed for 10 days. This was purportedly over a comment under a Facebook post in 2017, however he was detained on 17 February, nine days after he reported the latest irreparable damage which Russia has caused the Khan’s Palace, or Hansaray, in Bakhchysarai, an extremely important monument of Crimean Tatar heritage. 15 Crimean Tatars were detained merely for trying to attend the ‘court hearing’ on Friday morning and forced into a police van. The elderly woman became unwell in the van and an ambulance needed to be called. She was released on an undertaking to appear for the ‘court hearing’, with the latter imposing a fine for supposed ‘mass presence in a public place’.
Zodiye Saliyeva is no stranger to repression. Her grandfather was executed for refusing to join a collective farm which the Soviet regime under Joseph Stalin claimed was an ‘attempt to overthrow the Soviet regime’. Eighty years later, the Russian occupation regime came for her son, Seiran, who had attended his first peaceful protest as a baby in his mother’s arms. Seiran had followed in his mother’s footsteps. attending and reporting on political trials and other forms of repression under Russian occupation. He and Mumine became involved in the Crimean Solidarity human rights movement from its beginning in 2016. Mumine says that they were both aware of the likely consequences but recalls that Seiran spoke of this being their duty, a matter of integrity and honour.
Arrests
Seiran Saliyev (b. 1985) was one of six Crimean Tatars arrested after armed ‘searches’ in the early morning of 11 October 2017. Like him, Marlen (or Suleiman) Asanov (b. 1977) and Timur Ibragimov (b. 1985) were Crimean Solidarity civic journalists, while Memet Belyalov (b. 1989) and Server Zekiryaev (b. 1973) were both civic activists. It was obvious then that Russia was seeking to crush an important human rights initiative, however it was the arrest on 21 May 2018 of two other Crimean Tatars from Bakhchysarai - Crimean Solidarity Coordinator and civic journalist Server Mustafayev (b. 1986), as well as Edem Smailov (b. 1968)) that elicited international condemnation and awareness of escalating repression in occupied Crimea.
The charges
Not one of the men was accused of any actual crime, only of unproven ‘involvement’ in Hizb ut-Tahrir, a peaceful transnational Muslim organization which is legal in Ukraine and which is not known to have committed acts of terrorism anywhere in the world. There were no grounds for the 2003 Russian Supreme Court ruling which declared Hizb ut-Tahrir ‘terrorist’, and it is likely that the move was aimed at enabling Russia to extradite victims of religious persecution back to Uzbekistan.
Marlen Asanov; Memet Belyalov and Timur Ibragimov were charged with ‘organizing’ a Hizb ut-Tahrir group Article 205.5 § 1 of Russia’s criminal code, while Ernes Ametov; Server Mustafayev; Seiran Saliyev and Edem Smailov were accused only of ‘involvement’ in such an alleged group (Article 205.5 § 2), The distinction is largely arbitrary, however it makes a difference to the length of the sentence, and there have been occasions where the charge was changed to the more serious of the two in reprisal, for example, for refusing to remain silent about torture.
All eight men were also charged (under Article 278) with ‘planning to violently seize power’. This new charge also appeared only in February 2019, with no attempt ever made to explain how the men were planning such a ‘violent seizure’.
The ’evidence’
There were three illicitly taped and entirely innocuous conversations in a Crimean Mosque which the FSB sent to three supposed ‘experts’. Yulia Fomina; Yelena Khazimulina, and Timur Zakhirovich Urazumetov are all notorious for lacking any professional competence to back assessments which invariably support whatever claims the prosecution makes.
Russia’s use of anonymous and totally secret ‘witnesses’ has been found in violation of the right to a fair trial by the European Court of Human Rights and has been condemned by the UN Secretary General. The prosecutor and judges are well aware of this, with the judges often blocking questions that prove that the supposed ‘witnesses’ are lying. This was, in fact, one of a large number of such conveyor belt ‘trials’ where the same ‘secret witnesses’ were used, with both Konstantin Tumarevich, a Latvian fugitive from justice, and Narzulayev Salakhutdin from Uzbekistan, having dodgy papers and, therefore, a vested interest in ‘cooperating’ with the FSB to avoid being deported.
Convictions, ‘acquittal’ and re-trial
On 18 September 2020, Rizvan Zubairov, together with Roman Saprunov; and Maxim Nikitin from the Southern District Military Court in Rostov (Russia) convicted seven of the men, and acquitted Ametov. The sentences, all in the harshest of Russian penitentiary institutions, were horrific: Marlen Asanov was sentenced to 19 years; Memet Belyalov – 18 years; Timur Ibragimov – 17 years; Server Mustafayev - 14 years; Seiran Saliyev – 15 years (reduced at appeal to 14 years); Edem Smailov – 13 years and Server Zekiryaev – 13 years.
On 8 July 2022, two other Crimean Tatar civic activists – Oleh (Ali) Fedorov (b. 1970) and Ernest Ibragimov (b. 1981) were sentenced to 13 years in a ‘trial’ based on the same illicitly taped conversations, dodgy ‘expert’ assessments and ‘secret witnesses’ (details here).
‘Appeal’ and rearrest
It became clear on 14 March 2022 during the final hearing before the Vlasikha military court of appeal in Moscow region that prosecutor Yevgeny Sergeevich Kolpikov had lodged an appeal against Ernes Ametov’s acquittal.
There was every reason to throw out all of the convictions. Instead, the only change made was that Ernes Ametov’s acquittal was revoked. Ametov had been placed under huge pressure to give false testimony against other Crimean Tatars and had refused, despite understanding the reprisals he would face. He was shortly afterwards rearrested and put on ‘trial’ at the same Southern District Military Court. On 26 December 2022, Yevgeny Kolpikov, who, in 2020 had demanded a 17.5 year sentence against Ametov, asked the court to sentence him to 18.5 years. Three days later, on 29 December 2022, the new panel of ‘judges’ – Aleksei Abdulmazitovich Magomadov (presiding); Kirill Nikolaevich Krivtsov; and Vladimir Yevgenievich Tsybulnik – passed a new sentence, of 11 years.
It remains to be seen whether the FSB continue their terrorization of 70-year-old Zodiye Saliyeva, however her son, Seiran Saliyev and the other political prisoners remain imprisoned thousands of kilometres from their families and homes, and publicity is vital. Please also write letters! They are a lifeline to the men and send an important message to Moscow that its treatment of Ukrainian political prisoners is under scrutiny. Letters need to be in Russian, handwritten, and on ‘safe’ subjects. If that is a problem, use the sample letter below (copying it by hand), perhaps adding a picture or photo. Do add a return address so that the men can answer.
Example letter
Привет,
Желаю Вам крепкого здоровья и надеюсь, Вы скоро вернетесь домой, к своим родным. Простите, что мало пишу – мне трудно писать по-русски, но мы все о Вас помним.
[Hi. I wish you good health and hope that you will soon be home, with your family. I’m sorry that this letter is short – it’s hard for me to write in Russian., but you are not forgotten. ]
Seiran Saliyev
301470, Россия, Тульская обл., Плавск, пос Белая Гора, ФКУ ИК-4
Салиеву, Сейрану Алимовичу, 1985 г.р.
[In English: 301470, Russian Federation, Tula oblast, Plavsk, Belaya Gora, Prison Colony No. 4
Saliyev, Seiran Alimovich, b. 1985 ]
Marlen Asanov
431120, Россия, ФКУ ИК-7 УФСИН России по Республике Мордовия, Зубово-Полянский район, п. Сосновка, ул. Центральная, д. 2.,
Асанову, Марлену Рифатовичу, 1977 г. р
[In English: 431120 Russian Federation, Mordovia, Prison Colony No. 7, Zubovo-Polyansky raion, Sosnovka, No. 2 Tsentralnya St.
Asanov, Marlen Rifatovich, b. 1977 ]
Memet Belyalov
175130 Россия, Новгородская обл., рп. Парфино, ФКУ ИК-9, ул. Народная, зд. 9.,
Белялову, Мемету Решатовичу, 1989 г.р.
[In English: 175130 Russian Federation, Novgorod oblast, Parfino, Prison Colony No. 9, Narodnaya St., bld 9
Belyalov, Memet Reshatovich, b. 1989 ]
Timur Ibragimov
391825, Россия, ФКУ ИК-5, Рязанская область, Скопинский район, с. Клекотки
Ибрагимову, Тимуру Изетовичу, 1985 г.р.
[In English: 391825 Russian Federation, Ryazan oblast, Klekotki, Prison Colony No. 5
Ibragimov, Timur Izetovich, b. 1985 ]
Server Mustafayev
392000, Россия, Тамбов, ул. Мичуринская, д. 57, ФКУ ИК-1
Мустафаеву, Серверу Рустемовичу, 1986 г.р.
[In English: 392000 Russian Federation, Tambov, Michurinskaya St., 57, Prison Colony No. 1
Mustafayev, Server Rustemovich, b. 1986 ]
Edem Smailov
156522, Россия, Костромская обл., Костромской район, пос. Бычиха-12, ФКУ ИК-7
Смаилову, Эдему Назимовичу, 1968 г.р.
[In English: 156522, Russian Federation, Kostroma oblast, Bychykha-12, Prison Colony No. 7
Smailov, Edem Nazimovich, b. 1968 ]
Server Zekiryaev
301781, Россия, Тульская область, г. Донской, мкр. Комсомольский, пр-д Димитрова, 1, ФКУ ИК-1, ,
Зекирьяеву, Серверу Зекиевичу, 1973 г.р.
[In English: 301781 Russian Federation, Tula oblast, Donskoy, Komsomolsky, pr-d Dimitrova 1, Prison Colony No. 1
Zekiryaev, Server Zekievich, b. 1973 ]
The addresses for Ernes Ametov, Oleg Fedorov and Ernest Ibragimov are not yet known (as they were held in Rostov until the end of their appeal )