Detention: On May 12, 2016, in occupied Bakhchisarai, Russian security forces conducted a series of searches in the homes of Crimean Tatar Muslims and a local café. Among those detained was Enver Mamutov. After the search, a computer and phone were seized from his home. According to his family, his wife and lawyer were unable to determine his whereabouts for several days. On May 13, 2016, Mamutov was arrested. He became one of four defendants in the so-called first Bakhchisarai group of the 'Hizb ut-Tahrir case'.

Mamutov was charged under Part 1 of Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code for allegedly organizing the activities of an organization deemed terrorist by Russian authorities, and in 2017, additional charges were added under Part 1 of Article 30, Part 2 of Article 35, and Article 278 of the Russian Criminal Code for allegedly preparing for a violent seizure of power by an organized group. Human rights defenders consider the persecution politically and religiously motivated.

Sentence: On December 24, 2018, the North Caucasus District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Enver Mamutov to 17 years in a strict regime colony and 1 year and 6 months of restricted freedom. Mamutov and the three other defendants did not plead guilty and claimed the persecution was politically motivated.

On July 11, 2019, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation reduced Mamutov's main sentence by three months to 16 years and 9 months of imprisonment. The additional punishment of 1 year and 6 months of restricted freedom remained unchanged. The decision came into force.

As of September 6, 2026, Enver Mamutov continues to serve his sentence. According to current information from human rights defenders, he is held in FKU IK-9 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Chuvash Republic.

Enver Shevketovich Mamutov was born on August 28, 1975, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where his family was deported during the 1944 deportation of Crimean Tatars. He is a Ukrainian citizen and a Crimean Tatar by ethnicity.

After eighth grade, Mamutov entered Construction Vocational School No. 43 in Tashkent, where he trained as a second-class mason-plasterer, completing his studies in 1991. In 1994, his family returned to Crimea and settled in the village of Viktorivka in the Bakhchisarai district. Mamutov worked in the construction sector, including as a plasterer-painter and builder.

Enver Mamutov is married and has seven children. According to the Association of Relatives of Kremlin Political Prisoners, he had a son and a daughter from his first marriage, and three sons and two daughters from his second marriage. The youngest child was very young at the time of his arrest.

On May 12, 2016, Mamutov was detained during mass searches in Bakhchisarai. Along with him, Remzi Memetov, Zevri Abseitov, and Rustem Abiltarov were also detained. Russian security forces accused the men of involvement in the activities of 'Hizb ut-Tahrir'. Human rights organizations emphasize that Russian security structures systematically use cases under Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code to persecute Crimean Tatar Muslims in occupied Crimea.

During his time in the pre-trial detention centre, Mamutov was held in solitary confinement for an extended period. According to the Association of Relatives of Kremlin Political Prisoners, the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia was forced to acknowledge violations of his detention conditions. On May 22, 2018, Mamutov and other case defendants were transferred from Crimea to a pre-trial detention centre in Rostov-on-Don.

On December 24, 2018, the military court in Rostov-on-Don delivered a guilty verdict. On July 11, 2019, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation reduced Mamutov's sentence by three months to 16 years and 9 months.

In September 2019, Mamutov was transferred to Correctional Colony No. 11 in the Stavropol Territory. In 2021, the Ukrainian consul reported health issues among several Ukrainian political prisoners, including Enver Mamutov, and inadequate medical care in Russian penitentiary institutions.

In May 2025, Mamutov was initially placed in a punishment cell, after which his family was informed without prior notice of his transfer to another colony. In June, it became known that he was moved from Colony No. 11 in the Stavropol Territory to Colony No. 3 in the Chuvash Republic.

According to current data from human rights defenders, as of September 2026, Mamutov is held in IK-9 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Chuvash Republic.

Information sourced from open sources: ZMINA, Crimean Tatar Resource Center, CrimeaSOS, Association of Relatives of Kremlin Political Prisoners, Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Suspilne Crimea.

Photo: Suspilne Crimea.

Last updated: 06.09.2026.