Ruslan Suleimanov is a civic journalist, human rights defender, and activist of the Crimean Solidarity movement, persecuted by the Russian Federation for his active civic stance and coverage of human rights violations in temporarily occupied Crimea.
He was sentenced to 14 years in a high-security penal colony on charges of organizing activities of a terrorist organization under the so-called “Hizb ut-Tahrir case.” On 28 March 2019, the Kyiv District Court in Simferopol accused him of terrorism under Part 1 of Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code and ordered his arrest until 15 May 2019, with a potential sentence of 15 to 20 years or life imprisonment. In April 2024, he was transferred from a pre-trial detention center in Novocherkassk to a correctional colony in Verkhneuralsk, Chelyabinsk region, Russia. Suleimanov considers his persecution politically motivated and does not admit guilt.
Ruslan Suleimanov was born on 21 April 1983 in Kokand, Fergana region, Uzbekistan. In 1993, he moved with his family to Crimea. He graduated with a gold medal from Murom Secondary School in Bilohirsk District and later earned a Physics of Magnetic Phenomena degree at the V.I. Vernadskyi Tavrida National University. He worked as a laboratory assistant at the Tavriia Ecological Institute and later as a programmer. After his company closed, he tutored students in physics. He declined offers to work abroad, choosing to remain in Crimea to support the families of political prisoners. He is married and has four children.
In February 2017, he was detained outside the home of Marlen Mustafaiev during a raid by Russian security forces. He was sentenced to five days of administrative arrest for allegedly participating in an unauthorized rally. In October of the same year, he staged a solo picket in support of arrested Crimean Tatars, for which he was fined 10,000 rubles. At the time, Russian administration unlawfully subjected him to forced fingerprinting, photographing, foot-printing, and saliva sampling for DNA without issuing any official procedural documentation.
On 17 April 2019, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir publicly called for the release of Ruslan Suleimanov and other individuals detained following raids in Crimea. On 18 July 2019, the European Parliament adopted a resolution demanding that the Russian Federation release all Ukrainian political prisoners, including Suleimanov. On 6 November 2019, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine named Crimean Tatar citizen journalists — including Ruslan Suleimanov — collective laureates of the Ihor Lubchenko National Award for the Defence of Freedom of Speech. On 3 February 2020, the international human rights organization Freedom House urged the Russian administration to review the sentences issued against journalists covering the activities of Crimean Solidarity.
Ruslan Suleimanov is one of hundreds of Ukrainian citizens who have become victims of politically motivated persecution by the terrorist state for resisting occupation, demonstrating civic engagement, and defending human rights. We call on democratic governments and human rights organizations to continue exerting pressure on Russia to secure the release of those unlawfully imprisoned and to end the ongoing repression of Crimean Tatars and Ukrainian activists. Only through joint efforts can justice be restored.