Today, we tell the story of Crimean Tatar activists Teimur and Uzeir Abdullaiev, who actively participated in the public life of their people and were illegally sentenced to 17 and 12.5 years in a maximum security prison.
Life before the detention
Uzeir Rza ogly Abdullaiev was born on April 30, 1974, in Baku, Azerbaijan. His brother, Teimur, was born on May 27, 1975. In 1993, Teimur enrolled in the Simferopol Law College to study law and obtained his law degree in 1995. Uzeir pursued his higher education at the Law Faculty of the Simferopol branch of the National University “Odessa Law Academy”. However, instead of working in his field, he started his career as a coach.
In 1997, Teimur became a coach and teacher of a taekwondo sports section and was one of the first to help open such sections in Simferopol. His students achieved significant success; some of them became honored masters of sports in taekwondo.
In 1996, Abdullaiev’s family finally returned to Crimea and settled in the village of Strohonivka near Simferopol.
What have the occupiers come up with?
On October 12, 2016, Russian security forces conducted massive searches in the village of Strohonivka, the Simferopol region, during which five representatives of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people were detained, including brothers Teimur and Uzeir Abdullaiev.
On June 18, 2019, the court in Rostov-on-Don passed a false guilty verdict for Teimur and Uzeir Abdullaiev. Teimur was sentenced to 17 years in a strict regime colony with a 1-year and 6-month restriction of freedom, and Uzeir was sentenced to 12.5 years.
In December 2019, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation reduced their sentences by six months.
Why were Teimur and Uzeir Abdullaiev actually detained?
Like many other Crimean Tatars, Teimur and Uzeir were persecuted by the occupation administration on ethnic grounds. The brothers were among the first Simferopol group of detainees in Crimea on trumped-up charges in the “case of Crimean Muslims.”
Where are Teimur and Uzeir Abdullaiev now?
In March 2020, it became known that the Abdullaiev brothers had been illegally transferred to the Penal Colony #2 in Salavat, Bashkortostan, more than 1500 km from Crimea.
After their arrival, both were immediately confined in a punishment cell. In May 2021, the colony administration extended their stay in the punishment isolation ward until June 6 due to their refusal to cooperate with Russian special services.
In February-March 2021, Teimur suffered a hypertensive crisis, which forced him to take bed rest for some time, even in the punishment cell. In the summer, after the next expiration of his term in the punishment cell, he was temporarily transferred to a unit with strict detention conditions. However, later, he was regularly returned to the punishment cell again.
Uzeir’s illnesses also worsened, and after an ECG made in prison, the colony doctor diagnosed him with an acquired heart defect. In addition, he suffered from allergic rhinitis.
“My husband has constant swelling in his foot; he cannot stand for long periods as the pain gets worse,” said Uzeir’s wife in 2023.
Due to the extremely harsh conditions of detention, the political prisoners’ health continues to deteriorate, but the occupation administration refuses to provide them with medical care.
“He cannot focus on objects. Everything is blurry and distorted. He wears glasses, but both with them and without them, he has severe pain in his eyes,” Diliara Abdullaieva, the mother of political prisoners, said about Teimur’s health.