Life before the detention
Erfan Osmanov was born on September 3, 1982, in the city of Chartak, Namangan Region, Uzbekistan, into a family of Crimean Tatars who had been deported from Crimea by the Soviet regime in 1944. His mother was a chemistry and biology teacher, while his father was a musician. In 1990, when Erfan was eight years old, the family returned to Crimea and settled in the village of Oktyabr in the Dzhankoi district. There, Erfan continued his education at the local primary school.
From an early age, he was passionate about music — attending music school and learning to play the trumpet. In 1996, he enrolled in the Azov Music School, where he studied for four years and performed in various musical ensembles.
In 2000, he enrolled at the Crimean Engineering and Pedagogical University, majoring in Music Education, and obtained a degree in teaching. However, finding official employment proved difficult, so Erfan began working in interior decorative finishing. Music remained a central part of his life — he often performed at celebrations and special events.
In 2008, he got married. The couple went on to have four children: Yunus, Amir, Said, and Kamal. Before his arrest, Erfan was actively involved in organizing children’s events, both as a musician and a civic activist.
Persecution
On March 27, 2019, one of the largest-scale raids on Crimean Tatar homes took place in the Simferopol district of Crimea. Simultaneously, officers of the occupying administration carried out arrests in the Kamianka and Strohanivka neighborhoods, where religious Muslims resided. That day, 23 activists were detained — among them was Erfan Osmanov.
The unlawful trial began in March 2021 at a court in Rostov-on-Don, Russia.
On January 12, 2023, the court sentenced Erfan Osmanov to 13 years in prison. The first 2 years are to be served in a maximum-security prison, with the remainder in a penal colony. Upon release, he will face an additional year of restrictions: a ban on leaving his municipality, a curfew, and mandatory check-ins with supervisory authorities.
Behind the bars
At the time of the trial, Erfan Osmanov was held in Detention Center No. 5 in Rostov-on-Don. Over a year in detention, he developed hypertension. Additionally, the political prisoner was unjustifiably placed in a punishment cell for over three months, part of which he spent in solitary confinement. In his letters, he described unbearable conditions: cold, insects, and a lack of medical care. In cases of toothache, rather than receiving treatment, his teeth were simply extracted.
He had already been living with several chronic health conditions prior to his arrest, including liver issues resulting from childhood jaundice, kidney prolapse, and a dermatological skin disorder.
On September 11, 2023, the appellate court in Vlasykha, Moscow Region, Russian Federation, upheld the original sentence.
Following the verdict, Erfan Osmanov was held for a time in a detention center in Rostov-on-Don. He was later transferred to a prison in Verkhneuralsk, Chelyabinsk Region — one of the harshest penal institutions in Russia, notorious for its severe conditions. There, he spent several months awaiting further transfer. According to his lawyers, the conditions were extremely harsh: isolation and limited access to medical care further worsened the political prisoner’s health.
On November 24, 2024, Erfan Osmanov was transferred from Verkhneuralsk to Penal Colony No. 1 in the city of Kyzyl, located in the Republic of Tuva — more than 4,000 kilometers from Crimea.