Life before the detention
Enver Mamutov was born on 28 August 1975 in Samarkand, where his family had been deported by the Soviet regime. After completing the eighth grade, he enrolled in Construction College No. 43 in Tashkent, where he trained as a bricklayer-plasterer. In 1994, the family returned to Crimea and settled in the village of Viktorivka in the Bakhchysarai district. Enver helped his relatives build homes and rebuild their lives on their ancestral land.
Mamutov was married twice. From his first marriage, he has two children — a son and a daughter. In his second marriage to Aliye, he became a father to five more children. Enver was caring and devoted, actively engaged in their upbringing. His youngest daughter, Samira, was only two months old when her father was arrested.
Persecution
Following Russia’s occupation of Crimea, Enver Mamutov became a target of systemic repression against Crimean Tatars. On 12 May 2016, Russian security forces broke into his home, forcing the door lock. During an unlawful search, they seized his electronic devices, and Mamutov was detained and fully isolated from his family and lawyer for several days.
Enver became one of the defendants in the so-called Bakhchysarai group in the so-called “case of Crimean Muslims.” He was charged with “organizing terrorist activities” (Part 1, Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code) — a provision Russia routinely uses to fabricate cases against Crimean Tatars. Later, he faced an additional charge of “preparing for the violent seizure of power.” While other defendants were accused of “participation,” which carries lighter sentences, Mamutov was immediately designated an “organizer” solely due to his civic engagement.
For an extended period, he was held in solitary confinement in the Simferopol pre-trial detention center, where conditions were so inhumane that even the Russian penitentiary service was compelled to acknowledge violations.
Behind The Bars
In May 2018, Enver was transferred to Rostov-on-Don, and in November of the same year placed in a special block of the pre-trial detention center, where water constantly leaked from the ceiling, making it impossible to stay for even a few hours. He remained there until his sentencing.
On 24 December 2018, the North Caucasus District Military Court sentenced Mamutov to 17 years in a strict-regime colony. After appeal, his sentence was reduced by only three months, to 16 years and 9 months.
In September 2019, he was transferred to Correctional Colony No. 11 in Stavropol Krai — far from his home and family, and with limited access to adequate medical care.
In May 2024, Mamutov spent five days in a punishment cell (SHIZO). After a short return to general conditions, he received another SHIZO penalty. His lawyer was not allowed to visit him promptly, and that same day Mamutov was urgently prepared for transfer. Before being moved, he briefly managed to confirm that he was being transported, but neither the reasons nor his final destination were disclosed to him.
It was later confirmed that Enver Mamutov had been transferred from IK-11 to Correctional Colony No. 3 in the Chuvash Republic, further complicating communication with his family and lawyers.
Despite years of imprisonment, separation from his loved ones, and harsh conditions in the colony, Enver Mamutov remains a symbol of the Crimean Tatars’ unbreakable spirit. His resilience serves as a reminder of the hundreds of Crimean Tatars persecuted by Russia solely for their faith, dignity, and devotion to their homeland.