Arrest: On February 11, 2016, mass illegal searches took place in Crimea, during which armed forces of the occupation administration broke into the home of Crimean Tatar activist Muslim Aliyev. After the search, he was arrested on fabricated charges by the FSB of the Russian Federation for alleged involvement with the Islamic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir, which operates legally in Ukraine but is banned in Russia. The real reason for the persecution was his active involvement in the Muslim community 'Alushta', where since 2005 he helped organize religious events and advocated for interethnic respect. Muslim Aliyev's arrest was another instance of systemic repression by the occupiers against Crimean Tatars for their beliefs and ethnic identity.

Sentence: On November 12, 2019, a Russian court in Rostov-on-Don, during a session lasting only 14 minutes, issued an unlawful sentence in the 'Yalta Hizb ut-Tahrir case', sentencing Muslim Aliyev to 19 years in a high-security colony with an additional year of restricted freedom after release. On June 25, 2020, the Military Court of Appeal in the Moscow region upheld this sentence, which was later confirmed by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

Muslim Nuriyevich Aliyev was born on March 4, 1971, in the village of Ulugbek, Ordzhonikidze district, Tashkent region of the Uzbek SSR, where his family was illegally deported in 1994 by the Soviet totalitarian regime.

In 1978, he returned to Crimea with his parents, but due to the local authorities' ban on registering Crimean Tatars, the family was forced to move to the village of Taman in the Krasnodar region of the Russian Federation.

From 1979 to 1988, he studied at Taman Secondary School No. 28, where he completed his secondary education and obtained the specialty of a third-class tractor driver and a general-purpose mechanic. After school, he worked at the Krasnodar fishery collective farm, from where he was sent to study at the Krasnodar Maritime School.

After completing his studies, he received qualifications as a third-class mobile power station operator and a general-purpose electromechanic.

In January 1989, Muslim's family finally returned to Crimea, to the village of Tsvitochne in the Bilohirsk district. That same month, Muslim was drafted into the army, where he served for two years in the missile forces.

Muslim Aliyev was an active member of the Muslim community 'Alushta' and participated in its activities since 2005. He helped organize religious holidays, collective Friday prayers, and sermons.

He always advocated for good neighborliness and mutual respect among representatives of different nationalities and confessions, opposing violence, racism, and xenophobia.

On February 11, 2016, during another round of illegal mass searches in Crimea, the forces of the occupation administration broke into Muslim Aliyev's home with a search, after which he was illegally detained on fabricated charges of alleged extremism. The FSB of the Russian Federation accused him of involvement in the activities of the Islamic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir. The organization has been banned in Russia since 2003, but it operates legally in Ukraine and many other countries worldwide.

On November 12, 2019, a Russian court in Rostov-on-Don unlawfully sentenced Muslim Aliyev to 19 years in a high-security colony with an additional year of restricted freedom after release. The court session lasted 14 minutes.

Currently, the political prisoner is held 2,000 kilometers from Crimea, in Correctional Colony No. 2 in the city of Salavat (Republic of Bashkortostan), where since September 2020, he has been subjected to constant administrative pressure, regular placements in a punishment cell, and is held in a strict regime barrack.

His arrest was yet another example of the systematic persecution of Crimean Tatars by Russian occupying forces for their ethnic identity, views, and beliefs.

In January 2020, Muslim Aliyev was held in Pre-trial Detention Center No. 3 in the Rostov region. He was then illegally transferred to the Pre-trial Detention Center in the city of Taganrog in May of the same year.

On June 25, 2020, Muslim Aliyev was denied an appeal, which was later confirmed by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, after which he was sent to Correctional Colony IK-2 in the city of Salavat in the Republic of Bashkortostan, over 2,000 km from Crimea, where he remains to this day.

Pressure on Aliyev began almost immediately after he was transferred to the colony.

On October 1, 2020, he was placed in a punishment cell for 10 days. Later, he was sent to a regime room, often with his detention simply extended without release from the cell.

During the serving of his unlawful sentence, the political prisoner was repeatedly subjected to unfounded disciplinary sanctions, including placement in a punishment cell.

According to his wife, Nadzhie Adzhi-Mamutova, Aliyev has been in strict conditions since August 16, 2022, and has also been periodically sent to a punishment cell for various terms. One of the formal reasons for his transfer to the punishment cell was that he did not stop his prayer when the colony chief entered the cell.

The political prisoner challenged this decision in the Salavat City Court, but without success. Subsequently, Aliyev was repeatedly transferred to regime rooms, with his detention period often extended without release.

Before his arrest and sentencing, Muslim Aliyev was an active member of the Muslim community 'Alushta', organizing funerals, holidays, conducting prayers, burials, ablutions, marriage rituals, and naming ceremonies.

Information used from open sources: Crimean Tatar Resource Center, Kyiv Regional Military Administration, Suspilne Crimea, Ukrinform, Zmina.

Photo: Crimean Solidarity

Update date: 01.07.2026