Emotional pressure and physical challenges: how the youngest political prisoner of Crimea, Appaz Kurtamet, holds on in the Pskov colony and waits for his imminent release

Appaz Kurtamet, a Crimean political prisoner currently being held in a high-security colony in the Pskov region of Russia, described the conditions of illegal detention in comparison to other places of detention, which he had to go through at different and long stages. The mother of the political prisoner, Ayshe Kurtamet, points out that her son’s health remains under threat, in particular due to the emotional and psychological pressure constantly present in the colony, as she informed the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.

“Appaz’s health condition is more or less better than it was, thanks to his youth, he is holding up well,” – Ayshe Kurtamet notes.

She emphasizes that the Pskov colony is not like the Simferopol Detention Center or the Vladimir Central Prison

According to her mother, Appaz has access to a gym, a library, and can use showers without time limits.

“There are civilized conditions by the standards of Russian institutions, and compared to the old prison of the Vladimir Central, there is a human approach to prisoners there,” – says Ayshe Kurtamet.

But despite some improvements, her son still has health problems due to the harsh conditions of detention and previous torture.
Staying in previous places of detention was not an easy ordeal for her son. Today, his day starts early in the morning and requires a lot of effort.

“The schedule is strict: getting up at 6:00, exercising takes an hour, breakfast at 7:00, and there is an hour of free time,” – says the mother of the political prisoner.

“Of course, you have to face a huge number of different people, and everything happens – disputes and misunderstandings between prisoners, but thanks to Appaz’s diplomatic character, he has not had problems with any of them, and thank God, he “manages to smooth out the sharp edges”. And so the situation is very depressing, leads, denunciations, all this is in a large society of prisoners, as a rule, and in conditions of restriction people are very angry, hate each other, and all this is disgusting,” – Ayshe reports the words of Appaz Kurtamet.

Ayshe Kurtamet pays special attention to the connection with her son. The mother notes that communication with Appaz has improved a lot. This is real progress for the family, because for a long time it was difficult for her to even hear her son’s voice.

“Communication has been established and we can talk to him on the phone, the limit is 15 minutes a day, this is already progress, finally, after almost three years I can hear my son’s voice every day for the first time,” shared Ayshe Kurtamet.

The mother of the political prisoner also said that among the prisoners, Appaz has not yet met other Crimean Tatars.

Despite everything, the mother of the youngest political prisoner of Crimea tries not to lose hope for a possible exchange. She hopes that in time her son will return home, and also expresses hope that the process of prisoner exchange will intensify.

Ayshe Kurtamet emphasizes that despite all the difficulties, her son is holding firm, trying to withstand the terrible conditions and not to break the Russian captivity.

We would like to remind you that Appaz Kurtamet is the youngest political prisoner of Crimea, who is illegally held behind bars in the Russian Federation. In addition to Appaz, the occupants also arrested the father of the guy and accused him of participation in the Crimean Tatar volunteer battalion named after Noman Chelebidzhikhan and sentenced him to 8 years in a strict regime colony.

It is known that on July 23, 2022, Russian security forces detained Crimean Tatar Appaz Kurtamet on suspicion of allegedly financing a terrorist organization under Art. 208 part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

According to the investigation, he lent 500 hryvnias to his acquaintance, who, as Appaz learned after the money transfer, serves in the battalion “Crimea”.

In April 2023, the guy was sentenced to 7 years in prison.

Crimean Tatar Resource Center condemns the illegal actions of the occupants of the rf and demands the release of the youngest political prisoner of Crimea!