Detention: On April 11, 2022, Russian security forces conducted a search at Artur Memetshaiev's home in occupied Henichesk, Kherson region. After the search, he was abducted and taken to an unknown location. His whereabouts remained unknown for some time. According to human rights defenders, Artur was later taken to occupied Crimea and placed in Pre-trial Detention Centre No. 1 in Simferopol.

Sentence: On October 12, 2022, the Russian-controlled Kyiv District Court of Simferopol sentenced Artur Memetshaiev to 6 years and 5 months in a strict regime colony, with the first year to be spent in prison. This date and sentence length are noted in the 'Memorial' profile; the CrimeanSOS report also records the sentence from October 12, 2022, as 6 years and 6 months.

Artur Aliyevich Memetshaiev was born on July 8, 1989. He is a Crimean Tatar, a citizen of Ukraine, residing in the Kherson region.

On April 11, 2022, a search was conducted at his home in Henichesk. Following this, Artur Memetshaiev was abducted by Russian military or security forces.

His detention was one of the first cases of a Crimean Tatar being abducted in occupied Kherson after the full-scale invasion, followed by criminal prosecution in Crimea for alleged participation in the Crimean Tatar volunteer battalion named after Noman Çelebicihan. CrimeanSOS reported that Artur was one of four out of seven people detained after February 24, 2022, who were abducted in Kherson and forcibly taken to Crimea.

The Russian side accused him under Part 2 of Article 208 of the Russian Criminal Code — participation in an armed formation not provided for by federal law, and participation in such a formation on the territory of a foreign state with a purpose allegedly contrary to the interests of Russia.

The Russian investigation claimed that Memetshaiev allegedly voluntarily joined the Crimean Tatar battalion named after Noman Çelebicihan and, along with other participants, checked people and vehicles in the border area. These claims are the position of the Russian side and cannot be considered as facts established by an independent court.

On October 12, 2022, Artur Memetshaiev was sentenced to 6 years and 5 months of imprisonment. In September 2023, he was transferred from Pre-trial Detention Centre No. 1 in Simferopol to Dubravlag, a complex of correctional facilities in the village of Yavas, Zubovo-Polyansky District, Republic of Mordovia.

In July 2024, the Crimean Tatar Resource Center reported that Artur was already serving his sentence in Mordovia. Along with him, two of his brothers, Arsen and Ablyamed Memetshaiev, were prosecuted in a similar case. Arsen received 5 years of imprisonment, and Ablyamed also received 5 years. The Crimean Tatar Resource Center called the three criminal cases against one family illegal, politically motivated, and criminal.

As of September 7, 2026, Artur Memetshaiev remains imprisoned. Human rights defenders note his current location as Correctional Colony No. 4 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Penza region. Previously confirmed place of serving the sentence was Mordovia.

Information used from open sources: Crimean Tatar Resource Center, ZMINA, CrimeanSOS, Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Association of Relatives of Kremlin Political Prisoners.

Photo: Human rights project 'Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial'.

Date of update: 09/07/2026