Detention: On March 27, 2019, FSB officers conducted mass searches in Crimea, particularly in the Kamyanka and Stroganovka districts near Simferopol. Following these events, Crimean Tatar human rights defender and civic activist Riza Izzetov was detained at his home. He was arrested on charges of involvement with the organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in Russia but operates legally in Ukraine and most countries worldwide.

Sentence: On March 10, 2022, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Riza Izzetov to 19 years of imprisonment. The first 5 years are to be served in a prison with the strictest conditions, and the remainder in a high-security colony. Additionally, the court imposed 1.5 years of restricted freedom after release. On March 28, 2023, the Military Court of Appeal in the town of Vlasikha, Moscow region, upheld the sentence.

Riza Mustafayevich Izzetov is a Crimean Tatar human rights defender, civic activist, member of the civic movement 'Crimean Solidarity', and one of the most well-known political prisoners of the Kremlin from occupied Crimea. For many years, he defended the rights of Crimean Tatars and assisted families of persecuted activists, and after the Russian occupation of the peninsula, he himself became a target of the repressive system.

Riza Izzetov was born on January 21, 1979, in the city of Fergana, Uzbekistan, where his family was deported along with other Crimean Tatars in 1944. Only after the collapse of the USSR did the family have the opportunity to return to their homeland. The future human rights defender studied in a school in the Bilohirsk district, later graduated from the Simferopol Lyceum with a legal focus, and then a legal technical school with honors. After serving in the missile forces in Yevpatoria, he entered the Odessa Law Academy. However, due to his father's death, he had to interrupt his studies to take care of his family.

After the start of the Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014, Izzetov actively engaged in human rights activities. He assisted Crimean Tatars who became victims of political persecution, provided legal consultations, attended court hearings, supported families of political prisoners, and delivered aid to them in pre-trial detention centers. At the same time, he documented human rights violations.

Already in June 2015, he was first detained by FSB officers without explanation. At that time, Crimeans came to the special service building demanding his release. Later, the persecution only intensified. In 2017, Izzetov was repeatedly detained and searched. In February, he was arrested for several days after covering the detention of Crimean Tatar activist Marlen Mustafayev. In March, he was detained again while supporting another human rights defender, Remzi Bekirov. In May, law enforcement officers came to his house once more.

The culmination of the persecution was the mass searches on March 27, 2019, which human rights defenders call one of the largest waves of repression against Crimean Tatars since the occupation of Crimea. On that day, Russian law enforcement detained over two dozen activists and citizen journalists. Riza Izzetov was among the defendants in the so-called 'second Simferopol Hizb ut-Tahrir case'. He was accused of 'organizing the activities of a terrorist organization' and preparing for a violent seizure of power.

After three years in custody, a Russian court handed him an extremely harsh sentence of 19 years of imprisonment. Human rights defenders viewed this decision as yet another example of the use of Russian anti-terrorism legislation to suppress dissent in occupied territories.

After sentencing, Izzetov began to be transferred through Russian prisons. In 2024, he was moved to Correctional Colony No. 1 in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), located more than 9,000 kilometers from Crimea. This distance effectively deprived his family of the opportunity to maintain regular contact with him. His mother, Nadiye Izzetova, over 70 years old and suffering from cancer, cannot overcome such a distance either physically or financially. She has not seen her son since his arrest in 2019.

Throughout 2024–2025, numerous reports emerged about the harsh conditions of the political prisoner's detention. According to lawyers and 'Crimean Solidarity', Riza Izzetov was regularly sent to a punishment cell and a single-type cell room. Disciplinary penalties were imposed for formal violations, such as allegedly improper clothing or even falling asleep during a hypertension attack. The political prisoner himself reported psychological pressure, poor lighting, restricted family contact, and difficult living conditions.

In 2025, Izzetov's family attempted through the court to have him transferred to a correctional facility closer to Crimea. However, the occupation judiciary denied the claim, despite the serious health condition of his mother and the obvious obstacles to exercising the right to family contacts. Only after an appeal was the case temporarily returned for a new review, but the final decision remained unfavorable for the family.

Information sourced from open sources: Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, ZMINA, Suspilne Crimea, Ukrinform, Center for Civil Liberties.

Photo: ZMINA.

Date updated: 10.07.2026.