Today, we share the story of Crimean activist Shaban Umerov, who was unlawfully sentenced to 18 years in a maximum-security penal colony.

Life before the detention

Shaban Izzetovych Umerov was born on 22 October 1969 in the city of Angren, Uzbekistan, where his family — like thousands of other Crimean Tatars — had been deported by Soviet authorities in 1944.

In 1990, during the mass return of Crimean Tatars to their homeland, Shaban Umerov relocated to Crimea and settled in the Simferopol district. Prior to that, he had trained as an electric welder after completing eight years of schooling. In his youth, he was passionate about sports, especially basketball, and dreamed of becoming a coach, taking part in competitions.

In Crimea, he worked in his trade and later in construction. He got married in 1992 and is the father of three children and grandfather of five.

Persecution

Shaban Umerov was an active member of the Crimean Solidarity civic movement. He regularly attended court hearings in politically motivated cases, supported the families of those imprisoned, and helped organize children’s events and care packages for detainees in pre-trial detention centers. His civic engagement drew the attention of the FSB.

As early as 2015, he was detained during a search at the home of lawyer Riza Izetov — his fingerprints were taken, and he was interrogated for an entire day. Shaban also noticed surveillance and suspicious vehicles parked near his home.

On 27 March 2019, Shaban Umerov was detained during a wave of mass raids in Simferopol. That day, Russian security forces stormed dozens of homes belonging to Crimean Tatars in the Kamianka and Strohanivka neighborhoods. His case became part of the so-called “second Simferopol group” in the case against Crimean Muslims. His nephew, Riza Umerov, was also detained alongside him.

Behind the bars

In March 2022, a Russian court in Rostov-on-Don found Shaban Umerov guilty and sentenced him to 18 years in a maximum-security penal colony, including five years to be served in prison. On 28 March 2023, the Military Court of Appeal upheld the sentence. 

Following his transfer, he was placed in Penal Colony No. 17 in the city of Murmansk, located 3,700 km from Crimea.

Even before his arrest, Shaban Umerov suffered from cardiovascular disease, back pain, and hypertension. His health has significantly deteriorated in the penal colony: he experiences seizures, heart murmurs, and worsening pain. He is forced to take medication regularly but does not receive adequate medical care.

Due to the condition of his teeth, Umerov is almost unable to consume solid food and survives on liquids. Despite multiple appeals, he has not been transferred to a medical facility. His family, lawyers, and human rights defenders have repeatedly raised the issue of transferring him closer to his place of residence, but responses have either been purely formal or entirely lacking.