Arrest: On March 27, 2019, Russian security forces conducted mass searches in the homes of Crimean Tatars in the Kamyanka and Stroganovka districts of Simferopol. After the search, Servet Gaziyev was detained and accused of alleged involvement in the activities of the Islamic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is recognized as 'terrorist' in Russia, although its activities are not banned in Ukraine and most countries worldwide. Human rights defenders emphasize that the charges were based mainly on secret witnesses and religious discussions, with no evidence of preparation or commission of violent acts.

Sentence: On January 11, 2023, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don unlawfully sentenced Servet Gaziyev to 13 years of imprisonment, with the first 3 years to be served in prison and the remainder in a strict regime colony. He was also given 1 year of restricted freedom after release. The Military Court of Appeal upheld the sentence. Ukraine and international human rights organizations consider the case politically motivated and a violation of the right to freedom of religion and a fair trial.

Servet Abdurayimovich Gaziyev was born on April 15, 1960, in the Uzbek SSR, Samarkand region, Kashkadarya district, Igichki village.

At the age of seven, he started first grade at the Karl Marx School in Kashkadarya region, where he completed 8 grades.

After school, he entered a vocational school in Tashkent, specializing as a 'turner'.

In 1979, he graduated from the vocational school and received a diploma. He worked in his specialty at 'Tashtextilmash'. After working there for a year and a half, he sustained a traumatic brain injury, underwent long-term treatment, and was hospitalized.

As a result of this injury, he was not conscripted into the army.

In 1988, he moved to Crimea for permanent residence. He was married twice.

He has two children: Edem Servetovich Gaziyev, born in 1993, and Anastasia Servetovna Gaziyeva, born in 1996.

Servet Gaziyev led a modest lifestyle, helping those around him as much as he could. He also assisted single mothers from the families of political prisoners. In the last year before his arrest, he was ill and unemployed. Occasionally, he worked in construction.

Servet Gaziyev was arrested on unfounded charges on March 27, 2019, following the largest searches in Crimea in the homes of Crimean Tatar Muslims in the Kamyanka and Stroganovka districts of Simferopol, leading to his detention.

After his arrest, Servet Gaziyev's health rapidly deteriorated. In the Rostov-on-Don pre-trial detention center, he was repeatedly denied proper medical care. In 2021, he suffered a minor stroke, resulting in partial facial paralysis and coordination issues. Human rights defenders, lawyers, and the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights repeatedly reported his critical health condition and demanded medical treatment.

During the trial, the prosecution relied mainly on materials from secret witnesses, linguistic and religious studies, and recordings of private conversations, which, according to Russian investigators, contained signs of participation in Hizb ut-Tahrir activities. The defense insisted that none of the evidence confirmed preparation or commission of violent acts, and that Servet Gaziyev's persecution was solely due to his religious beliefs and civic position.

After the sentence came into force, Servet Gaziyev was transferred to Correctional Colony No. 5 in Kamchatka Krai, one of the most remote places of detention in Russia, located thousands of kilometers from Crimea. Human rights defenders emphasize that such a transfer significantly complicates the ability to maintain contact with family and lawyers and is an additional form of psychological pressure on the political prisoner.

Despite numerous appeals from lawyers, family, Ukrainian authorities, and international organizations, Servet Gaziyev did not receive proper medical care for a long time. Due to his advanced age, disability, past minor stroke, and chronic illnesses, his health condition raised serious concerns. The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Crimean Solidarity, CrimeaSOS, ZMINA, the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, and other human rights organizations repeatedly demanded that Russia provide him with treatment and release him on humanitarian grounds.

As of July 7, 2026, Servet Gaziyev continues to be unlawfully held in places of detention in the Russian Federation. His case remains one of the most illustrative examples of the persecution of Crimean Tatars on fabricated charges of involvement with Hizb ut-Tahrir, and international human rights organizations view it as a violation of freedom of religion, the right to a fair trial, and international humanitarian law norms.

Information used from open sources: ZMINA, Crimean Solidarity, CrimeaSOS, Crimean Tatar Resource Center, Suspilne Crimea, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

Photo: Crimean Solidarity.

Update date: 07.07.2026