Crimean Tatar activist Asan Yanikov, sentenced to 15 years in prison,
has been unable to keep in touch with his family since he was
transferred to the Vladimir Central Prison. He has been restricted
from making phone calls and receiving most letters. This was reported
by his sister Fatime Yanikova in a comment to Crimean Solidarity.
The activist has repeatedly tried to talk to the head of the prison,
Viktor Kostin, to tell about his complaints, but, according to his
sister, his statements do not reach the head. During the year, Yanikov
was able to call his family only twice.
Fatime Yanikova also said that after her brother was beaten by two
guards in April this year, his bread allotment was reduced by two or
three times, which caused Asan to lose weight rapidly. After the
lawyer’s visit, the situation with the bread improved somewhat, but
Fatime does not know the details.
“In addition, Yanikov has chronic problems with his digestive system, but he is currently feeling well. He is held in a cell with one cellmate, and the quality of food and water is satisfactory. “Asan looks good, as always, he has lost weight, neat, clean, with the same fighting spirit,” – added Fatime Yanikova.
As a reminder, on March 27, Russian security forces in the occupied Crimea
conducted massive searches in 26 homes of Crimean Tatars. Some
activists were confiscated literature, which, according to Crimean
Solidarity, was planted by the security forces themselves. The
security forces behaved rudely. As a result, 20 people were detained,
suspected of involvement in the banned in Russia organization Hizb
ut-Tahrir. On March 28, three more Crimean Tatar activists were
detained, and their homes were searched in their absence. On March
27-28, the occupation court arrested all 23 detainees after the
searches of Crimean Tatar activists. They were imposed a pre-trial
restraint in the form of detention until May 15. All of them are
accused of involvement in the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization banned in
Russia. In August, court hearings are held to extend the preventive
measure for the defendants in the second Simferopol “Hizb ut-Tahrir
case”. They were left in custody until November 14-15, 2019.