Today, we share the story of Crimean Tatar activist Muslim Aliiev, unlawfully sentenced by Russia to 19 years in a maximum-security penal colony.

Life before the detention

Muslim Nuriiovych Aliiev was born on March 4, 1971, in the settlement of Ulugbek, Ordzhonikidze District, Tashkent Region, in the Uzbek SSR, where his family had been unlawfully deported in 1944 by the Soviet totalitarian regime.

In 1978, he returned to Crimea with his parents, but due to the local authorities’ prohibition on registering Crimean Tatars, the family was forced to move to Taman in the Krasnodar region of the Russian Federation.

From 1979 to 1988, he studied at Taman Secondary School No. 28, where he received a full secondary education along with qualifications as a third-class tractor-machine operator and a broad-profile mechanization specialist. After graduating, he worked at a fishing collective farm in Krasnodar, which sent him to study at the Krasnodar Marine School.

Upon completing his studies, he earned the qualifications of “Operator of a Mobile Power Plant” (third category) and “General Profile Electromechanic.”

In January 1989, Muslim’s family returned permanently to Crimea, settling in the village of Tsvitochne in the Bilohirsk District. That same month, Muslim was drafted into the military, where he served for two years in the missile forces.

What did the occupiers come up with?

On February 11, 2016, a series of illegal mass searches were conducted in Crimea. Officers of the occupation administration raided the home of Muslim Aliiev, where they carried out a search before unlawfully detaining him on fabricated charges of alleged extremism.

On November 12, 2019, a Russian court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Muslim Aliiev to 19 years in a maximum-security penal colony, followed by one year of restricted freedom after his release.

Why was Muslim Aliiev actually detained?

Muslim Aliiev was an active member of the Alushta Muslim community, contributing to its activities since 2005. He assisted in organizing religious celebrations, collective Friday prayers, and sermons.

He consistently advocated for good neighborly relations and mutual respect among people of different nationalities and faiths, firmly opposing violence, racism, and xenophobia. His detention serves as yet another example of the systematic persecution of Crimean Tatars by Russian occupation forces due to their ethnicity, beliefs, and convictions.

Where is Muslim Aliiev now?

In January 2020, Muslim Aliiev was held in Detention Center No. 3 in the Rostov region. In May of the same year, he was unlawfully transferred to a detention center in the city of Tahanroh.

On June 25, 2020, Muslim Aliiev’s appeal was denied, a decision later upheld by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. Following this, he was transferred to Penal Colony IK-2 in Salavat, Bashkortostan, over 2,000 kilometers from Crimea, where he remains to this day.

During his unjust imprisonment, the political prisoner has been subjected to repeated unfounded disciplinary actions, including being placed in a punitive isolation cell.