Crimean political prisoner Tofik Abdulgaziev, who is imprisoned in Russia, has informed his wife that he has begun to lose consciousness. He is also experiencing increasingly frequent shortness of breath. For more than a year, he has been held in Prison Tuberculosis Hospital No. 3 in Chelyabinsk, yet his condition continues to deteriorate rapidly.

“Tofik constantly tries to stay close to his bed in case he suddenly loses consciousness. I am appealing to everyone to pay attention to the situation my husband is in. I demand the release of my husband,” said the wife of Tofik Abdulgaziev.

In 2023, Tofik Abdulgaziev was sentenced to 12 years in a maximum-security penal colony on charges of alleged “terrorism”. Later, he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour with metastases and has almost completely lost his eyesight. In addition, he suffered from pulmonary and cerebral tuberculosis and has experienced severe weight loss.

The lawyer and the family are seeking the political prisoner’s release on health grounds. Motions supported by medical conclusions confirming the impossibility of his further detention have been submitted to the court of the Chelyabinsk region. Still, the hearing date has not yet been scheduled. In August 2024, the court denied early release despite his severe diagnoses.

Since the beginning of the Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014, the lives of Ukrainian citizens, including representatives of the Indigenous Crimean Tatar people, have turned into a continuous cycle of persecution and repression by the occupying authorities. Illegal detentions and politically motivated reprisals have become a daily reality for those who attempt to assert their rights or express their views.