Meeting with former political prisoner Lenie Umerova held in Mejlis

On Saturday, 28 September, a meeting with former political prisoner Lenie Umerova was held at the office of  Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people. This was reported by the manager of the Crimean Tatar Resource Centre Zarema Bariieva.

The meeting was joined by the Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Refat Chubarov, First Deputy Chairman of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Nariman Dzhelal, members of the Mejlis Riza Shevkiev, Ilmi Umerov, Eskender Bariiev, Head of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Centre, Head of the Department of External  Relations and Human rights Protection of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Zarema Bariieva, manager of the CTRC, former political prisoner Lenie Umerova and her family.

As a reminder, on 4 December 2022, Russian security forces detained Lenie Umerova after crossing the Georgian-Russian border, allegedly for violating the rules of the restricted zone and for not having Russian documents. The girl was travelling from Kyiv to the occupied Crimea due to her father’s deteriorating health.

She was held in Russian detention centres for a long time. As it turned out, the occupiers held the girl under the pretext of ‘administrative arrest’ in order to prepare a criminal case against her.

As a result, on 5 May, the Lefortovo Court in Moscow arrested Leniya for 2 months on suspicion of ‘high treason’ (Article 275 of the Criminal Code). Subsequently, the term of detention was repeatedly extended.

Fortunately, on 13 September 2024, Lenie was able to return home as part of the exchange.

‘In the less than two years of her imprisonment, unbeknownst to her, Lenie made hundreds of friends around the world who were worried about her and followed the development of her criminal case in the Russian Federation as closely as her own family.  It was a really difficult period, which I think her family remembers minute by minute, because every day was about advocacy in Ukraine and abroad, the struggle for survival in captivity and for her release from captivity,’ – said Zarema Bariieva.

We sincerely congratulate Lenie on her return to her native land, as well as her family, who have finally waited for the happy moment.

Today, Lenie Umerova is among the ten political prisoners of the Kremlin released as part of the exchanges, but another 223 political prisoners, 138 of them Crimean Tatars, remain in Russian detention centers. We will not stop until every single one of them returns home. Lenie, in her turn, has already become the voice of those who are still in the dungeons.

We are waiting and ready to meet everyone who is illegally imprisoned in Russian prisons. Our struggle continues, and we will not give up until we bring all our political prisoners home!