It should be reminded that Arsen Dzhepparov was detained on April 18, 2016. A month before his unlawful arrest, FSB officers came to his workplace to persuade him to “cooperate” – he was supposed to testify against other people. In case of refusal, he was threatened with a criminal case, which happened later. However, the intimidation of the occupiers proved to be in vain, and Mr. Dzheparov’s loyalty to his country and his people remained unwavering.

On April 17, 2023, the term of detention of political prisoner Arsen Dzhepparov expired. The illegal sentence to the Crimean Tatar was passed by the Southern District Military Court in 2019, before that the occupiers kept the man in a pre-trial detention center.

“This day came – I was released. Now we are near the colony IK-16. I was very happy to see my brothers when I went out the door. I can’t express my emotions for 7 years. This feeling is very exciting. Now we will wait for the others to be released,” – Arsen Dzhepparov commented.

In the conditions of the pre-trial detention center, and then the colony, Arsen Dzhepparov’s health condition deteriorated significantly, and for four years the political prisoner repeatedly informed his family and human rights activists about it. Since October 2022, he has been constantly in the pre-trial detention center.

The Mission condemns the illegal sentences of the occupiers to Ukrainian citizens, including representatives of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people. We express our support to Arsen Dzhepparov and his family. A long-awaited return home is ahead, and then the liberation of Crimea from the occupiers, because only de-occupation will return peaceful and free life to the Ukrainian peninsula.