On Friday, October 25, political prisoner Amet Suleymanov, a defendant
in the third Bakhchisarai “Hizb ut-Tahrir case,” turned 40 years old.
He is forced to celebrate his birthday in captivity – in the colony
where he was placed by the occupiers, despite his health condition.
At first, the man was under house arrest due to serious illness, but
on October 29, 2023, the Southern District Military Court
(Rostov-on-Don) sentenced him to 12 years in a maximum security
colony. And on April 6, 2023, Amet Suleymanov was taken into custody
and transferred to a detention center, despite his serious health
condition.
As a reminder, Amet Suleymanov has a 3 group disability, suffers from
arterial and mitral heart failure and is awaiting heart valve replacement surgery. In August, his wife visited him in the Russian “Vladimir Central” prison and spoke with the head of the medical service, who confirmed that Amet needed surgery. However, there is still no answer from the Moscow hospital on the date of the operation.
The Crimean Tatar Resource Center believes that the execution of this sentence is a deliberate encroachment by Russia on the life of Amet Suleymanov, as his health condition and the conditions in Russian
prisons leave very little chance that he will survive his stay in detention.
The CTRC constantly and systematically deals with issues related to the illegal detention of Ukrainian citizens by the occupation authorities and emphasizes that all responsibility for the life and health of illegally detained and convicted Ukrainian citizens in places of detention, including the temporarily occupied territories, lies solely with Russia as the aggressor state.
The CTRC demands that the Russian Federation provide the necessary
medical assistance to Amet Suleymanov and other illegally detained and
convicted persons in places of detention. We also appeal to the international community to provide an appropriate assessment of the actions of the aggressor state in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and to take certain steps to influence Russia.
Currently, Amet Suleymanov is under the care of Italian political scientist Antonio Stango, who has repeatedly demanded the release of the Crimean Tatar from custody. We are sincerely grateful for the systematic and constant support.