Detention: On August 11, 2022, in the temporarily occupied Crimea, Russian security forces conducted mass searches in the homes of Crimean Tatar activists in Dzhankoy and the Dzhankoy district. Murad Mustafayev was among those detained. A search of his home took place that morning. After the investigative actions, he was detained and taken to Russian security structures. On August 12, 2022, the so-called Kyiv District Court of Simferopol imposed a pre-trial detention measure on Murad Mustafayev until October 10, 2022. The court sessions were held behind closed doors: neither journalists nor relatives of the detainees were allowed in.

Sentence: On April 18, 2023, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Murad Mustafayev to 4 years of imprisonment.

According to human rights organizations, he was found guilty under Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code for participating in the activities of an organization recognized as terrorist by Russian authorities, as well as under Part 1 of Article 30 and Article 278 of the Russian Criminal Code for allegedly preparing to seize power by force.

The first 2 years of the sentence were to be served in prison, with the remainder in a strict-regime colony. The case was considered in a special procedure after Murad Mustafayev, according to the Russian side, pleaded guilty and entered a pre-trial agreement with the investigation.

Murad Aiderovich Mustafayev was born on February 23, 1993. He is a Crimean Tatar, a citizen of Ukraine, and a resident of the temporarily occupied Crimea. Before his detention, he was engaged in agriculture, growing vegetables in greenhouses, and occasionally worked in construction. Murad Mustafayev is the father of four children. At the time of his detention, his youngest child was only five months old.

Mustafayev was an activist in the Crimean Tatar community and supported other community members. His persecution was part of a large-scale campaign by Russian authorities against Crimean Tatars within the so-called 'Hizb ut-Tahrir case.' The Crimean Tatar Resource Center includes him in the list of individuals persecuted in this case.

On August 11, 2022, searches were simultaneously conducted in the homes of six Crimean Tatars in Dzhankoy and the Dzhankoy district: Enver Krosh, Vilen Temeryanov, Seit-Yagya Abbozov, Murad Mustafayev, Edem Bekirov, and Rinat Aliyev. The Crimean Tatar Resource Center reported that the searches began around four in the morning, and lawyers were not allowed at the scene of the investigative actions. All six were detained, and five, including Mustafayev, were sent to a pre-trial detention center the next day.

In the case materials, the Russian investigation claimed that Mustafayev and other defendants were members of a 'Hizb ut-Tahrir' cell. The evidence included audio recordings of a meeting in a mosque, Mustafayev's own testimony, the testimony of a secret witness, and the results of religious, psychological-linguistic, and phonographic examinations. The human rights project 'Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial' notes that his case was separated into a distinct proceeding.

Human rights advocates emphasize that in Russia, participants of 'Hizb ut-Tahrir' are persecuted for activities not prohibited in Ukraine and most countries worldwide.

On April 18, 2023, Murad Mustafayev received a 4-year prison sentence. The Representation of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea includes him in the list of Ukrainian political prisoners of the Kremlin.

According to current information from human rights defenders, Murad Mustafayev is held in FKU SIZO-1 GUFSIN of Russia in the Rostov region.

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

Photo: Association of Relatives of Kremlin Political Prisoners.

Update date: 07.09.2026.