Today, we share the story of Crimean Tatar activist İnver Bekirov, who was unlawfully sentenced by Russia to 18 years in a strict-regime penal colony.

Life before the detention

İnver Bekirov was born on January 1, 1963, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, where his family had been forcibly deported by the totalitarian Soviet regime in 1944, along with thousands of other Crimean Tatars. He spent his childhood and youth in exile.

After graduating from technical school, Bekirov trained as a bulldozer operator and earned a men’s tailoring and sewing diploma. He was also passionate about classical wrestling.

In 1990, his family returned to Crimea, settling in the village of Krasnokamianka in the Yalta district. Upon his return, he worked in the construction industry, specializing in interior decoration, renovations, and plasterwork.

What did the occupiers come up with?

On February 11, 2016, Russian occupation forces carried out mass raids on Crimean Tatar homes in Yalta and Alushta. İnver Bekirov, Muslim Aliyev, Vadym Siruk, and Emir-Usein Kuku were detained that day. Three months later, Arsen Dzhepparov and Refat Alimov were also unlawfully arrested.

The fabricated charges against them were based on wiretapped private conversations, manipulated audio analysis, and testimonies from anonymous witnesses, a common tactic used to build politically motivated cases against Crimean Tatars.

The case materials referenced a meeting where Crimean Tatars discussed Islamic values and the history of their people. Their remarks on the illegality of Crimea’s occupation and the forced seizure of their homeland were deliberately distorted and used as grounds to accuse them of “terrorist activities.”

Although the trial lasted over three years, the verdict was delivered in 14 minutes.

Why was Inver Bekirov actually detained?

İnver Bekirov was an active member of his community, supporting the families of those persecuted by the occupation administration and working to preserve the Crimean Tatar identity by organizing religious and cultural events. He regularly attended court hearings of politically motivated cases, provided financial and moral support to victims of repression, and refused to submit to the occupation regime. His arrest was part of a systematic campaign of persecution by the occupation administration, which targeted Crimean Tatars for their ethnic and religious identity, civic activism, and refusal to comply with the occupation regime.

Where is Inver Bekirov now?

On November 12, 2019, a Russian court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced İnver Bekirov to 18 years in a strict-regime penal colony.

Following his unlawful conviction, he was transferred to Correctional Colony No. 2 in Salavat, Bashkortostan, Russia.

During his imprisonment, Bekirov’s health has significantly deteriorated. He has suffered a minor stroke and experienced severe blood pressure spikes, loss of coordination, and temporary memory loss. Despite his critical condition, the prison administration denied him medical assistance and even considered placing him in a punitive isolation cell, ignoring medical recommendations prohibiting intense physical activity.