Today, we tell the story of Crimean Tatar activist Eskender Abdulhaniiev, who was illegally sentenced to 12 years in a maximum-security prison for his civic activities.
Life before detention

Eskender Abdulhaniiev was born on December 16, 1997, in the village of Zhovtneve, the Kurmansk region of Crimea. As a child, he dreamed of becoming a programmer, but due to his father’s illness, he was forced to work to help his mother provide for the family. He worked as a handyman and construction worker, poured concrete, worked in a tire shop, and practiced kuresh, the national Crimean Tatar martial art.

What the occupiers have come up with?
On February 14, 2019, the occupiers conducted illegal searches in the homes of three Crimean Tatars – Rustem Emiruseinov, Arsen Abkhairov, and, in particular, Eskender Abdulhaniiev, after which they were illegally detained.

The occupation forces broke into Eskender’s house early in the morning. They pushed his mother away, forced her to lie on the floor, and started searching for the man. This scared his younger sister, who still cannot recover from the experience:

“She started to be afraid to sleep alone and hardly eats anything. At the age of twelve, the girl has the third stage of anemia (low hemoglobin level in the blood) due to malnutrition,” says Emine Abdulhaniieva, the political prisoner’s mother.

On November 6 of the same year, the Simferopol regional “court” extended the term of detention for all three political prisoners and then again on December 29. On November 3, 2020, the Rostov-on-Don “court” handed down its criminal verdict: Eskender Abdulhaniiev was sentenced to 12 years in prison, Rustem Emiruseinov to 17 years, and Arsen Abkhairov to 13. All of them were sentenced to the most severe detention conditions for the first three years.

On November 1, 2021, the appellate “court” of Vlasikha, Moscow region of the Russian Federation, upheld the illegal sentence.

Relatives, activists of the Crimean Solidarity NGO, a representative of the Ukrainian Consulate in Rostov, and journalists attended each hearing. The first hearing was accompanied by arrests of those who came to support Eskender. During the appeal hearings, 19 people were detained.
Why was Eskender Abdulhaniiev actually detained?

Like many other Crimean Tatars, Eskender became the object of political persecution by the occupation administration. The man had an active public position, attended sessions of criminal “courts” against Crimean Tatars to support those illegally convicted, and helped the families of political prisoners.

The invaders’ main reason for persistently pressing Eskander Abdulhaniiev is his firm refusal to accept Russian citizenship.

Where is Eskender Abdulhaniiev now?
After the verdict was passed, on December 8, 2021, Eskender was transferred from Novocherkassk to the pre-trial detention center in Rostov-on-Don. Then, on December 11, he was transferred to the pre-trial detention center in Volgograd, where he stayed for a week, after which he was again illegally transferred to a colony in Ufa for a week. He then spent a day in colony No. 9 in Kazan, 12 hours in Izhevsk, and another three days in colony No. 29 in Perm, after which he was transferred to colony No. 7 in Kirov, where he stayed for five days.

On January 18, he was placed in the Russian prison “Vladimir Central.” Later, he was transferred to colony No. 41 in the Kemerovo region of the Russian Federation. In July 2024, he was sent back to the colony in Perm.

The occupation “court” did not take into account the time that the Crimean Tatar had already spent in detention and rejected the request for immediate transfer. The political prisoner has been imprisoned for more than three years.

Eskender was not allowed to see his family, violating his legal right to one authorized visit annually. In addition, he was restricted in his right to walk, receive parcels and financial assistance from relatives, and make phone calls. Due to the lack of parcels from relatives and poor food in prison, he lost weight, as his lawyers reported. His telephone conversations, even with human rights defenders, were tapped, further increasing his isolation and complicating his access to legal aid.
Between February 14 and June 21, 2024, he spent five months in the punishment isolation cell with a break of five days, during which he was temporarily transferred to a more strictly controlled cell.
On May 16, 2024, the prison commission called the Crimean resident “a persistent offender prone to constant violations.” In this regard, he was put on a preventive detention register. The Russians announced his transfer to strict conditions of detention, which was another stage in the intensification of repression against the political prisoner.

Eskender described the conditions of detention as “unsatisfactory,” which affected his physical and mental health. He repeatedly asked the administration to provide him with the Human Rights Commissioner’s contact information in the Russian Federation’s Kemerovo region and a representative of the Public Oversight Commission. Also, he requested permission to meet with the imam, but all these requests remained unanswered.

On July 9, 2024, it became known from Eskander’s letter to his mother, Emine Abdulhaniieva, that he was transferred to Colony No. 29, where the conditions of detention are even harsher than in the previous Colony No. 41. The prisoner’s mother also reported that her son is under constant video surveillance and isolated from other prisoners:

“At five in the morning, they raise his bed, take away his mattress, and my son stays there all day until the 10 p.m. curfew. The walk is an hour in the exercise room, where sunlight comes through a narrow gap in the roof. I understand that the conditions are worse than in the disciplinary isolation cell in Colony 41”.

Eskender Abdulhaniiev’s comments on the struggle for justice and faith
Since the occupation of Crimea in 2014, Crimean Tatars have faced constant persecution and repression. They are imprisoned, kidnapped, harassed, and constantly threatened.
In his last speech at the “trial,” Eskender Abdulhaniiev addressed lawyers, attorneys, human rights defenders, journalists, activists, and concerned people of different nationalities. Then, he emphasized that the fight against injustice and lies is not over:

“Truth and lies cannot have any points of intersection; it is impossible to unite light with darkness. We went to bed as ordinary people and woke up as terrorists and extremists.”

Nevertheless, despite the harsh conditions, Eskender Abdulhaniiev remains devoted to his faith and beliefs, continuing to be an example of courage and resilience without losing his steadfastness.

“I never stop thinking about the strength and support I feel through these walls. Your letters, parcels, and pleadings are precious and important to us. With such support and cohesion, you have shown the whole world that you will never accept tyranny and injustice and will never submit to an aggressor country.”

The citation from Eskender’s letter on the occasion of Eid al-Adha in 2021.