Arrest: On August 6, 2015, Murat (Murad) Aliyev was walking down a street in Crimea when three men in civilian clothes greeted him and put him in a car. He was taken to the Central District Department of Internal Affairs, where he was accused of robbery—allegedly attacking a person and taking a phone. At 2 a.m., he was transferred to a temporary detention facility, and in the morning, the court chose a preventive measure—imprisonment in the Simferopol pre-trial detention centre.

Sentence: On the advice of a lawyer, who explained that fighting was pointless, Aliyev agreed to plead guilty for a lesser sentence. The prosecutor requested 3.5 years, the judge sentenced him to 2.5 years of imprisonment. After six months, he was transferred to Kerch Correctional Colony No. 2. After serving this sentence, he faced new charges under Article 280 of the Russian Criminal Code ('incitement to extremism') and Article 282 ('inciting hatred'). The court changed the preventive measure to house arrest, and Aliyev fled to Ukraine-controlled territory, crossing the administrative border.

Murat (Murad) Aliyev is a Crimean Muslim who encountered the occupation justice system after authorities began monitoring the mosque in his neighborhood. In the Simferopol pre-trial detention centre, he was placed in a transit cell designed for 6 people, but 17 were held there—forcing them to sleep in shifts. The cells were in terrible sanitary conditions, with frequent power and food shortages.

In Kerch Correctional Colony No. 2, Aliyev witnessed extensive torture. Officials from Russia implemented increasingly harsh rules: banning sitting during the day, mandatory singing of the Russian national anthem, and exercises at 5 a.m. even for the elderly. A key episode was the arrival of a group of five officers from Omsk led by General Khromonogov—they systematically greeted newcomers with beatings, stripped them in winter, forced them to clean floors and toilets, and brutally punished those who refused. Documented cases of sexual violence against prisoners occurred. 'It's horrifying to see the terror and tears in the eyes of an adult man who says he doesn't consider himself a man because they shoved a baton into him,' Aliyev described.

Aliyev tried to protect newcomers and sought a meeting with the colony's head, Oleksiy Bobrykov, but he denied the torture. The prosecutor's office accepted complaints but responded that no violations were found. For his attempts to resist the system, Aliyev was repeatedly sent to a punishment cell, where he was tortured with electric shocks, had his arms twisted, was strangled, and threatened with extended sentences.

New charges emerged after Aliyev visited a restored mosque in the colony. An FSB agent among the prisoners deliberately asked him provocative questions, recording the conversations. Based on these recordings, which the investigation manipulated to fit their narrative, Aliyev was charged with new articles. He attempted to deceive FSB operative Damir Ramazanovich by offering cooperation as an agent, which changed the course of the case—the court placed him under house arrest.

Taking advantage of house arrest, Aliyev fled to Ukraine-controlled territory. 'When I saw signs in Ukrainian, it thrilled me,' he recounted. After escaping, he approached journalists from the Human Rights Information Center with a detailed account of the conditions in Kerch Colony and Simferopol pre-trial detention centre. His testimony became an important document for human rights defenders documenting torture in occupied Crimea.

Information used from open sources: ZMINA, CrimeaSOS.

Photo: ZMINA.

Date updated: 03.07.2026.