In Crimea, a mother of two children is being illegally held in a pre-trial detention center: Niyara Ersmambetova faces 20 years in prison

September 29, 2025
Niyara Ersmambetova, a 37-year-old Crimean Tatar woman and mother of two, has been illegally held in a detention center since May 2025 on trumped-up charges of “treason.” She faces up to 20 years in prison on these charges, according to Memorial.

It is known that the woman worked as a pharmacist in a pharmacy in the Nizhnegorsk district. She was detained on the seventh day after her mother’s funeral. Niyara has two children left behind: a 9-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old son. They now live with their grandfather, Niyara’s 70-year-old father, who has a II disability group. Before her arrest, it was Ersmambetova who supported the whole family.

The Crimean Tatar Resource Center condemns the illegal actions of the occupying “authorities” and demands that the Russian Federation release Naira Ersmambetova and other illegally imprisoned political prisoners.

According to the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is one of the most popular articles used by the occupiers to illegally convict innocent Crimeans. In particular, in the first half of 2025, 24 people were detained on charges of “treason.”