Detention: Baktiyar Ablaev was detained on February 5, 2025, in occupied Crimea following a search of his home in the village of Kovylnoye, Dzhankoy district. On the same day, Russian security forces conducted searches at the homes of at least five Crimean Tatars—Emir Kurtnazirov, Rustem Mustafayev, Abibulla Smedlyaev, Mirzaali Tajibayev, and Baktiyar Ablaev. All five were detained after the searches.

Sentence: On February 6, 2025, the Kyiv District Court of Simferopol, under Russian occupation control, ordered Baktiyar Ablaev to be held in custody until April 4, 2025. The court sessions were held in a closed format.

In January 2026, the case was transferred to the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don. Baktiyar Ablaev, along with Emir Kurtnazirov, Rustem Mustafayev, Abibulla Smedlyaev, and Mirzaali Tajibayev, is part of the so-called "fourth Dzhankoy group."

As of September 2, 2026, no verdict has been issued for Baktiyar Ablaev.

He is accused under Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Russian Federation Criminal Code—"participation in the activities of an organization recognized as terrorist under Russian Federation law." The charges relate to alleged involvement in the activities of "Hizb ut-Tahrir."

Baktiyar Ayderovich Ablaev was born on July 26, 1988. He is a Crimean Tatar, native, and resident of Crimea. Before his arrest, he lived in the village of Kovylnoye, Dzhankoy district, Autonomous Republic of Crimea. According to available human rights databases, he worked as a laborer.

Information about his education, employment, marital status, and public activities is limited in open Ukrainian human rights sources.

On February 5, 2025, Russian security forces conducted a search at his residence. Ablaev's detention was part of a new wave of repression against Crimean Tatars in the Dzhankoy and surrounding areas of occupied Crimea. Human rights organizations have regarded these detentions as another instance of systematic persecution of Crimean Tatars on religious and political grounds.

According to the Russian investigation, Ablaev and other defendants in the case were allegedly involved in the activities of "Hizb ut-Tahrir." The organization was banned in Russia by a 2003 Supreme Court decision. Meanwhile, human rights organizations emphasize that in Ukraine and most countries worldwide, "Hizb ut-Tahrir" is not banned as a terrorist organization, and criminal cases against Crimean Tatars under this article are viewed as politically motivated persecution.

Human rights defenders reported that during the searches, prohibited books and brochures might have been planted in the homes of the detainees. The searches were conducted early in the morning with armed FSB officers involved.

In March 2025, the "Supreme Court" of occupied Crimea upheld the preventive measure for the defendants in the case. In August of the same year, the arrest was extended, after which in December 2025, Ablaev and other defendants were transferred from Crimea to the Rostov region of the Russian Federation for trial.

On January 30, 2026, the trial began at the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don. The court examined, among other things, the materials from the searches, the results of phonographic examinations, and information obtained from surveillance of the accused. Relatives of the defendants stated that they do not recognize them as guilty.

In June 2026, due to overcrowding at Pre-trial Detention Centre No. 1 in Rostov-on-Don, Ablaev and other defendants were moved to Pre-trial Detention Centre No. 3 in Novocherkassk, Rostov region. As of September 2, 2026, he remains in custody, and the trial is ongoing. The next hearing in the case was scheduled for September 15, 2026.

Information used from open sources: ZMINA, Crimean Tatar Resource Center, CrimeaSOS, "Association of Relatives of Kremlin Political Prisoners," Radio Liberty / Crimea.Realii, Ukrinform, Suspilne Crimea.

Update date: 02.09.2026.