Arrest: On April 22, 2019, in occupied Crimea, Aydin Mamutov, born in 1978, was detained. The FSB accused him of participating in the 'Crimean Tatar Volunteer Battalion named after Noman Çelebicihan.' According to the case materials, Mamutov traveled to mainland Ukraine in 2016 and participated in combat in Eastern Ukraine near Avdiivka as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Between rotations at the front line, he also served in the Çelebicihan Battalion. He sustained a concussion during his service.

Sentence: On July 24, 2019, the Russia-controlled Kyiv District Court of Simferopol sentenced Aydin Mamutov to 4 years of imprisonment under Part 2 of Article 208 of the Russian Criminal Code ('participation in an armed formation not provided for by law'). The case was reviewed in a single session—Mamutov pleaded guilty and entered a pre-trial cooperation agreement with the investigation, which allowed him to receive the minimum sentence. On May 3, 2023, alongside Edem Kadyrov, Aydin Mamutov was released after serving his full term.

Aydin Mamutov is a Crimean Tatar born in 1978, a figure in the Çelebicihan Battalion case. During the investigation, he also testified in the case of another Crimean Tatar, Medzhit Ablyamitov. At a court session on January 21, 2021, Mamutov retracted his previous testimony and reported falsifications: FSB officers presented him with pre-prepared interrogation protocols for signature without allowing him to read them. Thus, he effectively confirmed that Ablyamitov's case materials were fabricated. Despite this, Ablyamitov was still sentenced to 6 years in a strict-regime colony.

On the same day as Mamutov, May 3, 2023, another figure in the battalion case, Edem Kadyrov, was released, also sentenced to 4 years under a pre-trial agreement. Aydin's brother, Fevzi Mamutov, spoke at a human rights event in Geneva in 2024 in defense of another brother, Ali Mamutov, who remains imprisoned. The Crimean Tatar Resource Center recognized Aydin Mamutov as a political prisoner.

Information used from open sources: Union of Relatives of Kremlin Political Prisoners, Radio Liberty, Crimean Tatar Resource Center.

Photo: Crimean Tatar Resource Center.

Date updated: 07/03/2026.