Arrest: On August 11, 2022, FSB officers conducted a search at the home of Crimean Tatar activist Enver Krosh in a village in the Dzhankoy district of occupied Crimea. He was subsequently detained as part of the so-called 'first Dzhankoy group case of Crimean Muslims.' During transportation, security forces beat Krosh, strangled him with a belt, and demanded he unlock his phone.

Sentence: On November 26, 2025, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Enver Krosh to 19 years in prison, with the first 4 years to be served in prison and the remainder in a strict regime colony. Human rights defenders and lawyers consider the case politically motivated and linked to his public activities and defense of Crimean Tatar rights.

Enver Umerovich Krosh was born on November 14, 1991, in Dzhankoy. His family belongs to the Crimean Tatar people, who were deported in 1944 and only returned to their homeland at the end of the Soviet era. The future activist received his secondary education in the village of Novostepove, Dzhankoy district. After school, he engaged in entrepreneurship: with his older brother Ekrem, he opened a mobile phone repair business and later independently learned to install air conditioners and repair refrigeration equipment.

In 2012, Enver Krosh married and has three children. Before the persecution began, the family led a normal life. However, after the occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014, Enver became increasingly involved in the public life of the Crimean Tatar community.

He became one of the activists documenting human rights violations on the peninsula, attended searches in the homes of Crimean Tatars, supported the families of political prisoners, and participated in collective prayers and public solidarity actions. Enver also conducted live streams and acted as a citizen journalist, helping to highlight the increasing repression each year.

The persecution of Enver Krosh began long before his arrest in 2022. According to human rights defenders and the Representative Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, he was kidnapped by Russian security forces in 2015 and subjected to torture with electric shocks. They demanded his cooperation with special services and false testimony against other Crimean Tatars. Krosh refused to cooperate despite the pressure and torture. A few years later, in 2018, the occupation authorities arrested him for 10 days on charges of allegedly displaying the symbols of banned organizations. Many Crimean Tatar activists then viewed the case as another method of intimidating public figures.

The morning of August 11, 2022, became a turning point in the life of Enver and his family. A wave of mass searches took place in the homes of Crimean Tatars in the Dzhankoy district. Russian security forces also came to Krosh's residence. After the search, he was detained along with other defendants in the so-called 'first Dzhankoy group case of Crimean Muslims.' They were accused of involvement with the Islamic organization 'Hizb ut-Tahrir.'

Particularly troubling were the reports of violence Enver suffered after his detention. According to lawyer Emil Kurbedinov, during transportation to Simferopol, security forces beat him on the head and body, lifted his arms in handcuffs behind his back, restricted his breathing with a belt, and forced him to unlock his phone. Despite the torture, the activist refused to comply with these demands. Information about the mistreatment was later made public by Ukrainian human rights defenders and media.

After his arrest, the occupation 'Supreme Court of Crimea' kept Krosh in custody. The appeal was held in a closed session, and lawyers emphasized the lack of substantiated evidence of his guilt. Enver himself stated he did not understand why he was in the pre-trial detention centre, as he had committed no crimes. The prosecution's evidence was essentially based on recordings of religious discussions and meetings that took place many years ago.

In October 2022, Russian investigators sent Enver Krosh for a compulsory psychiatric examination at a specialized institution in Simferopol. Crimean human rights defenders viewed this as an additional tool of pressure on the political prisoner. In the following years, his detention was repeatedly extended. The trial lasted almost three years and was accompanied by numerous violations of the right to a fair trial.

In 2024, he detailed the torture he experienced in Simferopol pre-trial detention centre No. 2. According to him, after transportation, detention facility staff beat him with hands and feet, used a stun gun, forced him to squat for long periods with his arms raised, and insulted him for his religious beliefs. He also reported being prohibited from performing prayers and being forced to learn the text of the Russian anthem.

In June 2024, Enver Krosh again reported violence, this time in the Rostov pre-trial detention centre. According to his lawyers, physical force was used against him without any grounds. The defense insisted on documenting this fact in court materials and declared their intention to seek accountability for the perpetrators.

While imprisoned, Enver Krosh repeatedly reached out to the international community through letters and statements. He emphasized the need to speak out against political persecution in Crimea and support political prisoners. In one of his letters, the activist warned that indifference to human rights violations today could become 'tomorrow's shame' for the democratic world.

Information used from open sources: Representative Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Association of Relatives of Kremlin Political Prisoners, Ukrinform, ZMINA, Radio Liberty / Crimea.Realities, Suspilne Crimea, Center for Investigative Journalism.

Photo: Suspilne Crimea.

Update date: 15.07.2026.