Seiran Saliiev is a civil journalist and Crimean Solidarity activist. Seiran, passionate about Crimean history, worked as a tour guide, practiced wrestling, and served as the head referee at Kurash, traditional Crimean Tatar wrestling tournaments. He also organized educational tours for children and youth to historical sites and taught Arabic.

After Crimea’s occupation, he attended “trials” in fabricated cases and reported on the occupiers’ crimes, including illegal raids on the homes of Crimean Tatars. He publicly urged his fellow citizens to show solidarity and support for those being persecuted.

On May 12, 2016, when searches were conducted in the homes of Crimean Tatars in Bakhchysarai, Seiran Saliiev spoke at a local mosque about the ongoing events, urging people to support their compatriots. The occupiers deemed Saliiev’s actions as organizing an unauthorized gathering and fined him 20,000 rubles.

On January 26, 2017, representatives of the FSB from the occupation administration conducted an illegal search of Seiran Saliiev’s apartment, leading to his arrest. That same year, a second search took place in his home. On October 11, 2017, Seiran Saliiev and five other Crimean Tatars were arrested, facing false accusations of terrorism. Since then, he has been held in custody.

On September 16, 2020, a Russian court in Rostov-on-Don delivered a verdict in the second Bakhchysarai case involving Crimean Muslims. Those illegally detained were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 13 to 19 years, with Seiran Saliiev receiving 16 years.

On March 14, 2021, the Russian Military Court of Appeals dismissed one of the charges, reducing his sentence by one year to 15 years in a penal colony. In July 2024, the occupiers unlawfully transferred Seiran Saliiev to harsher detention conditions in a colony in the Tula region, and in August, his mother, Zodiie Saliieva, was detained and interrogated.

Today, he could be celebrating his 39th birthday surrounded by family and friends, but Russian occupation has deprived him of that opportunity. Russia continues to unlawfully detain this political prisoner, underscoring the urgent need for the de-occupation of Crimea to ensure human rights on the peninsula and secure the release of those unjustly imprisoned.