Today, we tell the story of Crimean Tatar activist Rustem Seitkhalilov, who has been unlawfully sentenced to 14 years in a maximum security colony, with the first 5 years to be served in prison.

Life before the detention

Rustem Seitkhalilov was born on January 18, 1984, in the city of Karshi, Uzbekistan, where his family had been deported in 1944.

In 1990, his family returned to Crimea and settled in the village of Stovpove in the Dzhankoi district. That same year, Rustem began attending first grade.

In 2001, he enrolled in the Crimean State Engineering Pedagogical University in Simferopol, graduating in 2006 with a degree in Vocational Education and earning the qualification of an engineer-pedagogue.

Rustem worked in furniture production and assembly, and construction, and also gained expertise in plumbing and electrical work, continuing to work in these fields until his unlawful detention.

What did the occupiers come up with?

On March 27, 2019, Russian security forces conducted the largest wave of raids on the homes of Crimean Tatars since the beginning of the occupation. These raids targeted several districts of the peninsula, including the settlements of Kamianka, Strohonivka, and Bile. Dozens of Crimean activists were detained during these raids, including Rustem Seitkhalilov.

On March 8, 2022, a Russian court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Rustem Seitkhalilov to 14 years in prison.

Why was Rustem Seitkhalilov actually detained?

​​Like many other unlawfully arrested pro-Ukrainian activists in Crimea, his detention was part of a broader campaign of targeted repression by the Russian occupation administration against the Indigenous People of Ukraine–the Crimean Tatars.

Rustem regularly participated in religious and community events, helped organize celebrations for the Muslim community in Crimea, and was an activist with “Crimean Solidarity.” He supported political prisoners, assisted the families of the imprisoned, attended court hearings, and delivered aid to detention centers.

Where is Rustem Seitkhalilov now?

On July 7, 2023, the appeals court in Moscow upheld the political prisoner’s sentence without changes.

After the sentencing, Rustem Seitkhalilov was held in a detention center in Novocherkassk, and on August 26, 2023, he was transferred to Prison No. 1 in Dimitrovgrad, Ulіanovsk region, Russia, more than 1,000 km from Crimea.

On September 24, 2024, he was transferred from the colony to an unknown location.”Rustem called me and said that he is currently in Kazan. Soon, they will transport them further–to Kirov, and then to Volohda. That’s what he knows. I still don’t know where he will be taken finally,” said his wife, Elzara Seitkhalilova.