The occupation administration has illegally transferred Crimean political prisoner Asan Akhtemov to Correctional Colony No. 5 in the city of Koriazhma, Arkhangelsk region, Russian Federation. According to his sister, the transfer was extremely difficult, and Asan fell ill during the journey. He is currently being held in quarantine.

Asan Akhtemov was born on December 5, 1989, in the village of Levadky, Simferopol district, Autonomous Republic of Crimea. From 2015 to 2020, he worked as a journalist and assistant editor of the Crimean Tatar newspaper Avdet.

On September 3, 2021, officers of the Russian FSB detained him along with his brother Aziz and the First Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Nariman Dzhelyal, in occupied Crimea. They were falsely accused of carrying out an alleged “sabotage” on a gas pipeline in the village of Perevalne.

The Akhtemov brothers were subjected to torture, including electric shocks, physical abuse, and psychological pressure. In September 2022, the occupation “court” issued a verdict: Asan was sentenced to 15 years in a maximum-security penal colony and fined 500,000 rubles.

The Mission reminds that the transfer of prisoners from an occupied territory to the territory of the occupying state is a direct violation of international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Asan Akhtemov’s health condition is of special concern. The Mission emphasizes Russia’s responsibility for ensuring his life and well-being.

We call on international human rights organizations, democratic governments, and international institutions to intensify pressure on the Russian Federation to secure the immediate release of all political prisoners illegally held in temporarily occupied Crimea and Russia. The Mission continues to monitor the situation and take all possible measures to protect the rights of Ukrainian citizens who have become victims of political persecution by the Russian occupation administration.