Detention: On September 10, 2022, Russian FSB officers detained Mamut Enverovich Belyalov in temporarily occupied Feodosia. According to family and human rights defenders, after his detention, he was held incommunicado for several days, subjected to severe torture with electric shocks, beatings, and psychological pressure to confess to allegedly preparing sabotage and the murder of a member of the occupation administration. Later, a criminal case was opened against him under several articles of Russian criminal law. Ukrainian human rights organizations stated that the case was fabricated and that confessions obtained under torture cannot be considered evidence.

Sentence: On September 12, 2022, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Mamut Belyalov to 12 years in a high-security penal colony. Human rights defenders emphasized that the sentence was based on testimonies obtained under torture and on investigation materials whose credibility is seriously questioned. In 2025–2026, it became known that the FSB opened another criminal case against him, this time on charges of 'state treason.'

Mamut Enverovich Belyalov was born in 1998 in Crimea. At the start of the Russian occupation of the peninsula in 2014, Mamut was a ninth-grader. After school, he entered Kherson State Agrarian University and, after graduation, stayed to work in Kherson.

“At the end of September 2021, due to family circumstances, I had to return to Crimea. I planned to go back to Kherson in a few months. But at the end of October, my grandfather passed away, and I stayed home. I started working in construction,” Belyalov is quoted as saying.

On September 10, 2022, he was detained in Feodosia after meeting with a certain Igor Tyshchenko, who allegedly was to be the direct executor of the 'minister's' murder.

His sister, Fadme Belyalova, repeatedly stated that Mamut was an ordinary young man who was not involved in politics and had no connection to any illegal groups. Therefore, the family is convinced that the criminal case was entirely fabricated by Russian special services.

After Mamut's detention, he was held in complete isolation for several days. According to the political prisoner himself, later recorded by Nariman Dzhelyal in the pre-trial detention center, FSB officers used electric shocks, beatings, threatened sexual violence, and pressured him through his family to obtain the necessary testimonies for the investigation. These statements became one of the most thoroughly documented testimonies of torture against Crimean political prisoners after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

During the trial, Mamut Belyalov's defense insisted that all testimonies on which the accusation was based were obtained illegally. Belyalov himself stated in court that after his detention, he was tortured with electric shocks, severely beaten, deprived of sleep, and threatened with violence against him and his relatives. Despite these statements, the court refused to conduct an effective investigation into the torture allegations and used the investigation materials as evidence of guilt.

On September 12, 2022, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Mamut Belyalov to 12 years in a high-security penal colony. Ukrainian human rights organizations emphasized that the case is political and the sentence does not meet the principles of fair trial. In 2025, it became known that Russian law enforcement opened another criminal case against him, this time on charges of 'state treason.' According to human rights defenders, during the new investigation, he was again subjected to physical and psychological pressure.

After being transferred to Russia, Mamut is held far from Crimea. His family maintains contact with him mainly through correspondence. His sister, Fadme Belyalova, actively participates in campaigns supporting her brother, reports on his condition, and seeks his inclusion in potential exchange lists. Human rights defenders have repeatedly emphasized that Belyalov needs an independent medical examination due to the consequences of torture.

Mamut Belyalov's case differs from most Crimean 'Hizb ut-Tahrir' cases. He is prosecuted on charges of allegedly preparing sabotage and state treason. Human rights defenders believe that after the start of the full-scale war, Russia increasingly uses such charges for criminal prosecution of residents of occupied Crimea, especially Crimean Tatars suspected of pro-Ukrainian positions.

As of July 5, 2026, Mamut Belyalov remains unlawfully imprisoned in Russia. Ukrainian human rights organizations demand his release, an independent investigation into the torture allegations, and holding those responsible accountable.

Information used from open sources: ZMINA, CrimeaSOS, Crimean Tatar Resource Center, Representation of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Crimean Solidarity, Radio Liberty, Ukrinform.

Photo: ZMINA.

Date updated: 06.07.2026