Life before the detention

Tymur Izetovych Ibrahimov was born on 26 January 1985 in the city of Yangiyul, Uzbekistan, into a family of Crimean Tatars who had been deported from Crimea by the Soviet totalitarian regime in 1944. In 1991, when Tymur was six years old, his family returned to their homeland — Crimea. That same year, he sustained an eye injury that resulted in a childhood disability.

From 1998 to 2003, Tymur studied at a specialised boarding school for gifted children with an advanced focus on English in the village of Tankove, Bakhchysarai district. Admission to the institution was based on competitive selection, and Tymur successfully passed the entrance exams. After graduating, he enrolled in a higher education institution to study at the Faculty of Foreign Philology, where he majored in English and Ukrainian languages. During this time, he also worked part-time in a café.

Since 2007, Tymur Ibrahimov had been repairing and selling computer and phone equipment, eventually starting his own business. In November 2008, he got married. Together with his wife Diliara, he is raising four children — two sons and two daughters. Having lost his father at a young age, Tymur believed it was his duty to support low-income families and those who had lost their breadwinners.

Persecution

Since 2014, Tymur Ibrahimov had remained actively engaged with the problems faced by his fellow citizens and coreligionists. He took part in journalism, documenting and reporting on events taking place in Crimea until the time of his arrest.

On the morning of 11 October 2017, officers of the Russian FSB unlawfully raided the house where he lived with his family, conducting a search and confiscating all electronic equipment. That same day in Bakhchysarai, the occupation administration’s security forces unlawfully detained six other Crimean Tatars: Tymur Ibrahimov, Marlen (Suleiman) Asanov, Memet Belyalov, Seiran Saliiev, Server Zekiryaiev, and Ernest Ametov. Later, on 21 May 2018, as part of the same criminal case, Edem Smailov and Server Mustafaiev were also arrested.

On 16 September 2020, a court in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, sentenced Tymur Ibrahimov to 17 years of imprisonment.

Behind the bars

Following the verdict, Tymur Ibrahimov’s appeal was rejected. In September 2022, his defence filed a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, which also failed to alter the sentence. Transfers and prolonged detention in remand centres and penal colonies have significantly deteriorated his health.

Tymur Ibrahimov is classified as a Group III visually impaired person due to an artificial eye implant, which now requires replacement. During a visit with his wife in November 2023 at Penal Colony No. 5 in the village of Klekotki, Ryazan Region (RF), he reported a sharp decline in vision, persistent pain, and a general worsening of his condition. An ophthalmologist at the colony, who examined him for the first time in a year and a half, confirmed the need for surgery, but such a procedure is not feasible in prison conditions. The facility’s administration has repeatedly delayed the necessary treatment.

In addition to the deterioration of his vision, Tymur has lost around 27 kilograms of weight and suffers from gallstone disease, back and joint pain, and chronic fatigue. He has had to wait several months even for basic medical examinations, such as ultrasound scans.

Despite the physical suffering and pressure he faces, Tymur remains steadfast in his ideals and principles.