On March 15, 2014, the body of 39-year-old Crimean Tatar activist Reshat Ametov was discovered in the Bilohirsk district of Crimea. His body bore signs of brutal torture: his eyes were gouged out, his body was covered in severe injuries, and his mouth was sealed with tape. According to his brother, the cause of death was a knife wound to the eye.

Two weeks earlier, on March 3, Reshat Ametov had staged a peaceful one-man protest in the center of Simferopol, opposing the occupation of Crimea. He witnessed the city being overrun by so-called “little green men”—unmarked Russian troops seizing administrative buildings—while “self-defense units” patrolled the streets. Alone, without banners or flags, he stood in silent defiance.

Video footage from the square shows three men—two in unmarked military uniforms and one in civilian clothing—approaching Ametov, forcibly grabbing him, and shoving him into a vehicle. Witnesses had no time to intervene, and the police, stationed nearby, made no attempt to stop the abduction. The following 12 days, Reshat Ametov was held in captivity, enduring relentless torture.

On March 18, he was laid to rest in the Abdal cemetery in Simferopol. Hundreds gathered to bid him farewell, among them his wife and three young children, now left without a father. The Mufti of Crimea urged the community to remain calm and called for financial support for the bereaved family.

The activist’s murder was a chilling warning to all who dared to oppose the occupation. At the time, Russian propaganda sought to convince the world that Crimea had “peacefully” accepted occupation, but the truth was that those who spoke out were simply eliminated. Reshat Ametov became the first victim of a new era of Russian terror.

For his bravery, he was posthumously awarded the title of People’s Hero of Ukraine in November 2015, and in May 2017, he was honored with the title of Hero of Ukraine. The best way to honor his memory—and the memory of all those tortured, abducted, and persecuted by Russia—is to continue the fight for the liberation of Crimea, for the rights of the Crimean Tatar people, and for justice for all who have suffered under the repressive and violent policies of the occupation regime.