Detention: On April 17, 2015, Russian security forces detained Ali Asanov in connection with the so-called 'February 26 case,' related to a pro-Ukrainian rally near the building of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea on February 26, 2014. Human rights organizations emphasize that the persecution was politically motivated and targeted Crimean Tatars who supported Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Sentence: On June 29, 2018, the Russian-controlled 'Supreme Court of the Republic of Crimea' found Ali Asanov guilty of participating in 'mass riots' (part 2, article 212 of the Russian Criminal Code) and sentenced him to 4 years in a general regime colony. After accounting for time spent in pre-trial detention, he was released on October 30, 2018, having effectively served over three and a half years of imprisonment. Human rights defenders recognized the sentence as unlawful and politically motivated.

Ali Asanov was born in 1982 in Uzbekistan, where his family had been deported during the Soviet deportation of the Crimean Tatar people. In 1988, he returned to Crimea with his parents and settled in the village of Urozhayne, Simferopol district. From a young age, he helped his father with farming, and as an adult, he engaged in agriculture. He is married to Elnara Asanova, and the couple has three children.

On February 26, 2014, Ali Asanov participated in a mass peaceful rally near the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in Simferopol. The event was organized by the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people in support of Ukraine's territorial integrity. These events later became the basis for the criminal prosecution of several Crimean Tatars after the start of the Russian occupation of the peninsula. Human rights advocates emphasize that at the time of the rally, Crimea was under Ukrainian jurisdiction, and therefore Russia had no right to apply its criminal law to these events.

On April 17, 2015, Russian security forces detained Ali Asanov near his home. According to his wife, he was taken away without warning, and the family did not know his whereabouts for a long time. Subsequently, the court imposed a preventive measure in the form of detention. The prosecution claimed he participated in mass riots, but lawyers and human rights defenders repeatedly stated there was no sufficient evidence of his guilt.

The trial lasted over three years. Ali Asanov was held in a pre-trial detention center, while his wife raised their three young children alone. Ukrainian and international human rights organizations called the 'February 26 case' the first major politically motivated criminal case fabricated by Russia after the occupation of Crimea. They emphasized that the persecution was aimed solely at pro-Ukrainian activists and Crimean Tatars.

On June 29, 2018, the occupation court sentenced Ali Asanov to four years of imprisonment. Due to the recalculation of the pre-trial detention period under new Russian legislation, he was released on October 30, 2018, after serving most of the sentence. After his release, he returned to his family in Crimea.

Human rights organizations, including the Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, continue to view Ali Asanov's case as an example of the unlawful application of Russian criminal law on occupied Ukrainian territory and the persecution of Crimean Tatars for their civic stance.

As of July 24, 2026, Ali Asanov remains free after fully serving the unlawfully imposed sentence. His case remains one of the first examples of politically motivated criminal prosecution of Crimean Tatars following the occupation of Crimea.

Information sourced from open sources: Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukrayinska Pravda, CrimeaSOS, Crimean Tatar Resource Center, Krym.Realii, Project 'Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial'.

Photo: Krym.Realii.

Date updated: 24.07.2026.