• Topics / Human Rights Abuses in Russian-occupied Crimea

Another Russian ‘trial’ by Crimean Tatar family echoing Stalin era persecution

11.10.2024

Halya Coynash

Russia’s attack on the Crimean Solidarity human rights movement was also an attack on one family, whose elderly parents have now lost all their sons, some 80 years after Stalin’s regime came for their great grandfather

From left clockwise Abdulmedzhit Seitumerov, Remzi Nimetulayev, Amethan Umerov, Eldar Yakubov, Ruslan Asanov and Seidamet Mustafayev Photo montage Crimean Solidarity

Hearings are underway at the Southern District Military Court (Rostov) in Russia’s latest ‘trial’ of Crimean Tatar civic activists. It is a trial in form alone, as the ‘evidence’ presented in court, including the ‘secret witnesses’, differ from numerous other such trials mainly in the names of the men facing huge sentences and the pseudonyms of the anonymous ‘witnesses’ whose unverifiable ‘testimony’ is used to imprison them. The verdicts and long sentences have essentially been clear since 25 August 2025 when armed FSB officers burst into the homes of Ruslan Asanov (b. 1975); Remzi Nimetulayev (b. 1985); Seidamet Mustafayev (b. 1995); Abdulmedzhit Seitumerov (b. 1999); Ametkhan Umerov (b. 1986) and Eldar Yakubov (b. 1980). The Crimean Tatars from Bakhchysarai would have first become known to Russia’s FSB and many had faced administrative prosecution for their peaceful civic activism in support for other political prisoners and their families.

Russia’s targeting of civic journalists and activists is nothing new, however this case does stand out in its brutality, even by Russian standards. Abdulmedzhit Seitumerov (b. 27.08.1996) was just 23, when arrested, and had become a father less than two months earlier. He is also the last of three sons of renowned Crimean Tatar historian Shukri Seitumerov. His elder brothers Seitumer and Osman Seitumerov had been arrested, together with their maternal uncle Rustem Seitmemetov, on essentially identical charges in March 2020.

The charges against all three brothers differ little in essence from the ‘counter-revolutionary terrorist propaganda’ charges used to arrest and execute their great grandfather during Stalin’s Terror. In occupied Crimea, Russia is using a flawed and secretive Supreme Court ruling from 2003 as pretext for accusing Ukrainian citizens of ‘terrorism’ without any recognizable crime. The 2003 ruling declared Hizb ut-Tahrir, a peaceful, if controversial, transnational Muslim organization ‘terrorist’, although the organization was not known to have committed acts of terrorism in Russia or elsewhere. Hizb ut-Tahrir is legal in Ukraine and Russia is in violation of international law by applying any of its repressive legislation on occupied territory. Such imprisonment, ‘trials’ and huge sentences would be illegal even if there was evidence of involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir. There is none and the fake ‘terrorism’ charges are used as a weapon to try to crush the Crimean Tatar human rights movement, Crimean Solidarity, and silence its journalists and activists. The prosecutions are all based on fake ‘expert assessments’ usually of illicitly taped and quite innocuous conversations; the testimony of anonymous ‘witnesses’ and, very often, on ‘prohibited religious literature’ which the FSB claim they found during armed searches at which the men’s lawyers were prevented from being present. During the hearing on 7 October, two of the formal ‘witnesses’ whom the FSB, in breach of procedure, bring with them, confirmed that the families had complained that the literature was not theirs and that this, in further violation of procedure, had not been noted in the protocol.

This fabricated evidence is used to justify charges either of ‘organizing a Hizb ut-Tahrir group’ (under Article 205.5 § 1 of Russia’s criminal code) or of ‘having part in such an alleged Hizb ut-Tahrir group (under Article 205.5 § 2. In occupied Crimea, after armed searches where the FSB make no pretence of looking for anything but ‘prohibited literature’, the men are also charged with ‘planning a violent uprising’ (Article 278).

The six men have all been in detention since 25 August 2023, first in a Crimean SIZO [remand prison], now in a SIZO in Rostov (Russia). The ‘trial’ began on 26 August, after a previous hearing was cancelled at the last minute, after members of the men’s families had travelled to Rostov. Although the trial is likely to result in huge sentences in Russian prisons, it is also the only opportunity for their wives, parents or children to see the men.

As mentioned, all six men had earlier faced harassment and even administrative prosecution and brief terms of imprisonment for peaceful pickets, etc. in solidarity with political prisoners. Like many others, they doubtless knew the risk they faced, yet saw no possibility of remaining silent. Five were Crimean Solidarity activists: Ruslan Asanov (b. 18.02.1975(; Remzi Nimetulayev (b. 14.10.1985), father of five; Seidamet Mustafayev (b. 18.06.1995) who has four small children; Ametkhan Umerov (b. 05.08.1986), a father of five and Eldar Yakubov (b. 15.04.1980) who has six children, and was also looking after his invalid mother.

Ruslan Asanov is facing the more serious ‘organizing a Hizb ut-Tahrir group’ (Article 205.5 § 1), together with Article 278, and a sentence of 17-19 years. The other men are accused of ‘taking part’ in this entirely unproven ‘group’, and face sentences of around 12-14 years.

Please write, if you can, to one or more of the men!

The letters tell them and Moscow that they are not forgotten and that Russia’s persecution and the fate of its victims are 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.

Sample letter

Добрый день,

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. ]

Address (this can be written in Russian or English)

Ruslan Asanov

344022, РФ, г. Ростов-на-Дону, ул. Максима Горького, д. 219, ФКУ СИЗО-1 Асанову Руслану Ремзиевичу, 1975 г. р.

or in English