The Crimean Tatar Resource Center continues to talk about family persecution in the occupied Crimea and today we want to share with you the story of the family of Eskender Akhtemov, from whom the Russian occupiers took away his son Aziz Akhtemov and nephew Asan Akhtemov on the same day.
On September 3-4, 2021, in the occupied Crimea, searches were carried out in the houses of Crimean Tatars, among whom were Aziz and Asan Akhtemov. The security forces seized the equipment and took the men with them. Later it became known that the cousins were suspected of sabotage. The occupiers claim that they are allegedly involved in damaging the gas pipeline in the village of Perevalne, Simferopol region of Crimea.
It is known that Asan Akhtemov was tortured with electric shock and psychological violence was applied to him in order to extract a confession of guilt. In particular, they put a mask on the man, put him in a car and drove, according to them, to the forest to shoot him there. In the forest, the occupiers ordered Akhtemov to flee if he wanted to survive.
As a result, Asan Akhtemov was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 15 years, a fine of 500 thousand rubles and restriction of freedom for a period of 1 year, Aziz Akhtemov was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 13 years, a fine of 500 thousand rubles and restriction of freedom for a period of 1 year.
Moreover, on September 6, 2021, the occupiers sentenced the father of the detained Crimean Tatar Aziz Akhtemov, Eskender Akhtemov, and his brother Arsen Akhtemov to 10 and 15 days of administrative arrest for disobedience to the police, and on September 30 of the same year, Eskender Akhtemov was also fined 8 thousand rubles .
And in July 2023, the occupiers fined the mother of political prisoner Aziz Akhtemov, Zarema Akhtemova, 12,000 rubles for coming to the court building to support her son
2 searches, 2 criminal cases, 3 administrative cases, 2 fines. Isn’t this too much repression for one family?
We believe and know that justice will be restored very soon and one day all the prisoners from this family will definitely return home, and the occupiers will be responsible for the persecution and repression committed against each family member.