Detention: On October 15–16, 2025, Russian security forces detained her along with three other Crimean Tatar women: Esma Nimetulaeva, Fevziye Osmanova, and Nasiba Saidova.

Sentence: As of September 6, 2026, Elviza Aliyeva remains in custody, with her case under investigation. She is charged 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." This refers to alleged involvement with "Hizb ut-Tahrir." Human rights advocates view the prosecution of Crimean Tatars under this article as part of a systematic policy of repression in the occupied peninsula.

Elviza Eskenderivna Aliyeva was born on May 29, 2005, in Bakhchisarai. She is a Crimean Tatar, originally from the village of Dolynne in the Bakhchisarai district. At the time of her detention, Elviza was 20 years old. She was a fourth-year student at the Crimean Federal University, studying a management-related specialty, and worked as a cashier in a bakery in Simferopol.

Before her detention, Elviza led the typical life of a young student, balancing studies with work and living in the Bakhchisarai district. Open sources do not contain confirmed information about any public or political activities by Elviza prior to the start of the criminal prosecution. Her name became known in connection with the criminal case against four Crimean Tatar women initiated by Russian security forces in the fall of 2025.

On October 15, 2025, Russian security forces conducted searches in the homes of Crimean Tatars in the Bakhchisarai and Sevastopol districts of temporarily occupied Crimea. Following the searches, four women were detained: Esma Nimetulaeva, Elviza Aliyeva, Nasiba Saidova, and Fevziye Osmanova. This was the first "Hizb ut-Tahrir" case in occupied Crimea involving Crimean Tatar women. Previously, similar charges were mostly brought against men.

On October 16, 2025, the Russia-controlled Kyiv District Court of Simferopol imposed a preventive measure of detention for two months on the four women. Elviza Aliyeva, along with Nasiba Saidova and Fevziye Osmanova, was charged under Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Russian Federation Criminal Code — participation in "Hizb ut-Tahrir" activities. The hearings on the preventive measure were held in closed session.

The Russian side linked the criminal prosecution of the women to alleged participation in "Hizb ut-Tahrir" activities. Russia recognized this organization as terrorist in 2003. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, "Hizb ut-Tahrir" is not banned as a terrorist organization. Human rights organizations emphasize that Russian anti-terrorism laws are used in occupied Crimea to persecute Crimean Tatars for their religious beliefs and non-violent activities.

After her arrest, Elviza was held in Pre-trial Detention Centre No. 1 in Simferopol. According to family information, her detention conditions were harsh, including reports of being held in an unheated cell. In December 2025, the court extended the detention of the four women until March 14, 2026. The defense requested a change in preventive measure, including house arrest, and highlighted the lack of substantiated suspicions. None of the four women admitted guilt.

In October 2025, all four defendants were also forcibly sent for forensic psychiatric examination. Human rights defenders viewed this as an additional element of pressure on the detainees.

On June 10, 2026, the Russia-controlled Kyiv District Court of Simferopol extended the preventive detention of Elviza Aliyeva and the other defendants until September 14, 2026. The Crimean Tatar Resource Center condemned the persecution of Crimean Tatar women, calling it a continuation of systematic intimidation and repression against Crimean Tatars and Muslims in temporarily occupied Crimea.

As of September 6, 2026, Elviza Aliyeva is held in Pre-trial Detention Centre No. 1 of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service in occupied Crimea and Sevastopol.

Information used from open sources: ZMINA, Crimean Tatar Resource Center, Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Krym.Realii, Suspilne Crimea, Human Rights Project "Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial," materials from human rights media on the persecution of Crimean Tatar women.

Photo: Suspilne Crimea.

Update date: 06.09.2026.