Vulnerable groups in detention: stories of Crimean political prisoners 

For russia, Crimea has become a springboard for lawlessness on the territory of Ukraine since February 2014. Disregarding the requirements of Ukrainian legislation and international law, the occupiers are increasingly violating human rights and committing war crimes on the peninsula. The civilian population, which supports Ukraine, is subjected to oppression and repression.  

Often, such citizens are sentenced to considerable terms of imprisonment within fabricated “cases”. Elderly people, persons with disabilities and chronic diseases become political prisoners. They do not receive proper medical care in pre-trial detention centres and prisons, due to which their condition deteriorates.  

Such behaviour of medical workers in places of detention caused the death of two Crimean political prisoners. Thus, at the beginning of February 2023, Kostiantyn Shyrinh died in a russian colony. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison allegedly for “espionage activities in the interests of Ukrainian military intelligence”. The man suffered from cardiovascular diseases and needed a heart surgery. However, his numerous requests for medical care were ignored.  

A few days later Dzhemil Hafarov passed away. In addition to the second group of disabilities, he had chronic heart and kidney diseases. Without receiving proper medical care, the man died in the pre-trial detention centre due to cardiovascular failure. He was previously accused of “participation in the activities of a terrorist organization” and sentenced to 13 years in prison. 

Activists of “Crimean Solidarity” report that currently about 40 Crimean political prisoners are in potential danger. Ukrainian human rights defenders systematically publish statements calling for the release of such persons. In addition, russian legislation contains a list of diseases, the presence of which prevents the detention of prisoners suffering from them. However, the occupiers do not even comply with their own norms, which makes the process of releasing seriously ill citizens quite difficult.  

In this article, we have collected several stories of Crimean political prisoners who are still “serving their sentence” in russian colonies in a difficult condition and need immediate medical care. 

Oleksandr Sizikov 

Oleksandr Sizikov has the first group of disabilities. In 2009, he got into a car accident, as a result of which he received a number of injuries. Oleksandr also lost his sight. Despite this, the man attended court hearings in politically motivated “cases”, was present at searches of Muslim homes, went on solitary pickets in support of his guardian Edem Smailov, who was detained in 2018 on suspicion of “participation in the activities of a terrorist organization”.  

In July 2020, mass searches took place in Crimea. This affected Oleksandr as well. The activist was accused of “founding the Hizb ut-Tahrir terrorist cell”. Until now, he was under house arrest. However, on September 13, 2024, the Military Court of Appeal of the russian federation approved the sentence in respect of the political prisoner: 17 years of imprisonment.  

The police officers arrested him the following day. After that, the news spread in the information space that Oleksandr was taken in an unknown direction. Now he is in a detention centre in Bakhchysarai. His lawyer reported that the political prisoner was alone in the cell, moved around by touch, and in just two days found his way to the toilet and the sink.   

Tofik Abdulhaziiev 

Bilateral pneumonia, small left-sided hydrothorax (accumulation of fluid in the lungs), moderate anaemia, heart disease, urolithiasis, chronic gastritis and disseminated pulmonary tuberculosis are diseases suffered by the Crimean political prisoner Tofik Abdulhaziiev.  

FSB officers detained the man on May 27, 2019 after searching his home and accused him of alleged involvement in the Islamic political party “Hizb ut-Tahrir”, which was recognized as a terrorist by the Supreme Court of the russian federation in 2003, however, it operates legally in most countries of the world. His sentence is 12 years in prison.  

Despite the fact that the political prisoner has a number of illnesses, due to which he may be released from custody, the court refused to satisfy the defence’s request for release. “Employees of Themis” in their decision referred to the conclusion of the medical commission of TPI-3 (treatment and preventive institution) of Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service (FPS) in the Chelyabinsk region. The conclusion states that Tofik “does not require constant care and treatment in a specialized institution, can be kept in a correctional institution on a general basis” and that “his condition is stable”. However, this contradicts reality. 

Halyna Dovhopola 

69-year-old pensioner Halyna Dovhopola is being held in penal colony-1 in the Vladimir region of the russian federation allegedly for treason. In 2014, the woman gave an interview to a Ukrainian online publication, where she clearly expressed her pro-Ukrainian position. For the occupiers, this became the basis for her persecution.  

In November 2019, Halyna was detained and accused of “secret cooperation with the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine for the purpose of performing intelligence tasks and collecting data on a separate aviation regiment of the Black Sea Fleet”. The “court” chose a preventive measure for her in the form of detention. Dovhopola was placed in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention centre in Moscow, and was returned to the Simferopol pre-trial detention centre only in 2021.  

In March of the same year, Halyna Dovhopola was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment in a general regime colony and a year of restriction of liberty, and later she was transferred to the Krasnodar Territory. During transportation, the woman got frostbite on her toes; she lost a lot of weight in the colony; she suffers from gastritis and other chronic diseases. However, medical assistance is not provided to the pensioner.   

Amet Suleimanov 

Amet Suleimanov, sentenced to 12 years in prison for alleged involvement in the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization banned in the russian federation, needs immediate release due to his health condition. Before the detention, he was diagnosed with arterial and mitral insufficiency, and a recommendation was made to replace the heart valve. 

Due to heart defects, Amet received a disability of the 3rd group, but it was later removed due to his refusal to undergo a surgery in Moscow, since he was observed for a long time in Kyiv and was supposed to undergo the surgery there. 

In 2020, the man was sent under house arrest, which lasted for about 3 years. After that, russian security forces took Suleimanov to a strict regime colony to serve “punishment”, where his health deteriorated significantly. At the end of August this year, the political prisoner’s wife reported that Amet urgently needed a heart valve replacement surgery. 

It is worth noting that Suleimanov was taken into custody a few weeks after the decision of the Military Court of Appeal, which approved his sentence. 

Iryna Danylovych 

On April 29, 2022, journalist Iryna Danylovych was abducted by occupation security forces when returning home from work. On the same day, the russian special services conducted an illegal search at her parents’ house, as a result of which Iryna’s phone and laptop were seized.  

For about 10 days, the relatives did not know about her whereabouts, while she was kept in the FSB building. Later it became known that the woman was sent to the Simferopol pre-trial detention centre, being accused of “illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carrying of explosive substances or explosive devices”.  

In the detention centre, the activist’s health deteriorated significantly. She completely lost hearing in her left ear. However, the woman was not provided with proper medical care. And the doctors of the russian colony said: “Until you become deaf, until the nerve atrophies, there will be noises and squeaks in your ears. And no one is going to treat you here!”.

In order to get professional medical help, the journalist announced a dry hunger strike until “the start of treatment or biological death”. A few days later, the woman stopped her hunger strike due to the promise of the pre-trial detention centre management to take her to a clinic for examination and treatment. 

In June 2023, the occupation Supreme Court of Crimea changed the sentence of Iryna Danylovych: the sentence was reduced by one month. Earlier, the Feodosia City Court sentenced her to 7 years in prison and a fine of RUB 50,000.  

Recently, Iryna’s father passed away. He previously noted that his daughter was convicted for her journalistic activities, in particular with regard to covering the illegal trials over the Crimean Tatars and corruption in the field of health care in the occupied Crimea. He was also sure that Iryna’s headaches and ringing in her ears were the result of torture in the “basements” of the Simferopol FSB. 

The list of the political prisoners who have a number of serious illnesses and are deprived of the medical care includes: Azamat Eiupov, Teimur Abdullaiev, Arsen Abhairov, Servet Haziiev, Volodymyr Dudka, Tymur Ibrahimov, Emir-Usein Kuku, Khalil Mambetov, Rustem Murasov, Zekiria Muratov, Ruslan Nahaiev, Enver Omerov, Oleh Prykhodko, Amet Suleimanov, Shaban Umerov, Rustem Sheikhaliiev, Yashar Shykhametov, Ivan Yatskin and others.

CrimeaSOS analyst Yevhenii Yaroshenko emphasizes: “These cases prove that failure to provide medical care to prisoners is a systematic practice in penitentiary institutions under the auspices of the FPS. These actions not only violate the right of every person to the highest attainable level of physical and mental health, but also pose a direct threat to the right to life. In addition, we are talking about inhumane treatment, which is a war crime in conditions of the russian occupation of Crimea”.