Today, we are telling the story of Rustem Abiltarov, a Crimean Tatar who was illegally sentenced to 9 years in a maximum security prison.

Life before the detention

Rustem Abiltarov was born on September 28, 1979, in the city of Bekabad, Tashkent region, Uzbekistan, where the Soviet regime deported his family in 1944.

At the age of 14, he returned to Crimea with his parents and settled in the city of Bakhchysarai. There, Rustem studied at a local school until the 9th grade, after which he entered the Bakhchysarai Professional Construction Lyceum, majoring in carpentry. He also mastered the professions of electrician, plasterer and plumber. He was a master of decorative construction works, helping many community residents.

He was fond of sports, practiced kickboxing, and achieved the title of master of sports, becoming the champion of Ukraine in the 57 kg weight category.

What did the occupiers come up with?

On May 12, 2016, the representatives of the occupation administration broke into the house of Rustem Abiltarov, after which he was illegally arrested. 

On December 24, 2018, the “court” of Rostov-on-Don sentenced Rustem to 9 years in a strict regime colony. On appeal, the sentence was reduced by only three months.

Why was Rustem Abiltarov actually detained?

Rustem was an ordinary resident who was not indifferent to the fate of the community, and his detention was part of the occupation administration’s systematic persecution of Crimean Tatars on ethnic grounds on trumped-up charges.

Where is Rustem Abiltarov now?

On July 11, 2019, the so-called Moscow “court of appeal” decided to reduce his sentence by three months.

Since then, Rustem Abiltarov has been held at the Penal Colony No. 1 in the village of Kochubeevskoye, Stavropol Territory, Russia. 

“The most difficult thing for me was the wait. While we were filling out applications, we went through medical examinations. And only after that, we were taken to the dormitory room where we were waiting for him,” Elzara Abiltarova, the prisoner’s wife, said.

The Crimean Tatar has chronic diseases—pyelonephritis and rheumatoid arthritis, which have only worsened in the colony. His wife reported a significant deterioration in his health during his imprisonment, including physical weakness and chronic diseases that developed as a result of inhumane conditions and lack of proper medical care. The dental problems are tough: The dentist in the colony can only perform tooth extraction, so Abiltarov is practically deprived of appropriate dental care.

“Most of them are on painkillers, and of course, this has consequences like stomach and liver pain. We send the necessary medicines as much as possible,” says the political prisoner’s wife.