Arrest: On June 7, 2022, a search was conducted at the home of Crimean Tatar Aziz Faizullaev in the Feodosia district of Crimea, after which he was detained and taken to a pre-trial detention centre. Following his arrest, occupation media released a video allegedly showing his 'confession' to making two Molotov cocktails and setting fire to the building of the occupation Pushkin Village Council, after breaking a window. Human rights defenders considered this video to be coerced. According to the 'investigation,' on June 5, 2022, Faizullaev, while intoxicated, broke a window of the village council in Pushkine and threw two bottles with incendiary mixture inside. The fire destroyed most of the property in the deputies' room. The 'court' ruling explicitly stated that Faizullaev acted due to 'disagreement with the war in Ukraine, where his relatives live'.

Sentence: On October 26, 2022, the occupation court in the settlement of Ichki (Leninske) sentenced Aziz Faizullaev to 3 years of imprisonment under part 2 of article 167 of the Russian Criminal Code ('intentional destruction of another's property by arson'), and ordered him to pay 700,000 rubles in compensation for material damage. He served his sentence in Correctional Colony No. 2 (IK-2) in Kerch. In early 2025, a letter sent to Faizullaev was returned by the colony marked 'Released'. Thus, Aziz Faizullaev was released after serving the full three-year term.

Aziz Faizullaev is a Crimean Tatar resident of the Feodosia district of occupied Crimea. Human rights organizations and the Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea repeatedly stated the politically motivated nature of the case and human rights violations during the proceedings. The Crimean Tatar Resource Center recorded Faizullaev among the released Crimean prisoners of the Kremlin.

The Office of the President of Ukraine in the ARC emphasized that 'the release of Aziz Faizullaev was made possible through the joint efforts of the Ukrainian authorities, human rights organizations, and the international community,' and highlighted that it repeatedly issued statements regarding Faizullaev's unlawful imprisonment, demanding his immediate release. There is no information on Faizullaev's whereabouts after his release.

Information used from open sources: Suspilne Crimea, Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Crimean Tatar Resource Center.

Photo: Crimean Tatar Resource Center.

Update date: 03.07.2026.