Detention: In October 2017, Fevzi Sagandzhi was detained by FSB officers upon returning to occupied Crimea, according to human rights defenders. He reported being subjected to physical violence and forced to sign documents whose content he did not know. In March 2018, Russian authorities charged Sagandzhi under Part 2 of Article 208 of the Russian Criminal Code for alleged participation in an illegal armed formation. On April 11, 2018, he was arrested in connection with alleged involvement in the so-called 'Crimean Tatar Volunteer Battalion named after Noman Çelebicihan.'

Sentence: On January 23, 2019, the Russian-controlled Leninsky District Court of Simferopol sentenced Fevzi Sagandzhi to 10 years and 6 months in a strict regime colony under Part 2 of Article 208 of the Russian Criminal Code. Sagandzhi denied the charges, stating he was never a member of the Noman Çelebicihan Battalion. On May 14, 2019, the Russian-controlled Supreme Court of Crimea upheld the sentence.

Fevzi Sagandzhi was born on February 19, 1994. He is a Crimean Tatar, a citizen of Ukraine, and a resident of the village of Voikove in Crimea. He is married and has a child.

After the annexation of Crimea by Russia, Fevzi Sagandzhi moved to mainland Ukraine. He lived in Kherson with his wife and child, working as a coordinator for displaced persons at the charity foundation 'Health and Mercy.' Later, he worked in the taxi and construction sectors.

In September 2017, Sagandzhi returned to Crimea. According to human rights defenders, the reason for his return was to care for his seriously ill grandmother.

In October 2017, after returning to the peninsula, he was detained by FSB officers.

Sagandzhi reported being subjected to physical violence and torture. He stated that officers also forced him to sign documents whose content he did not know. The Representative Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea also reported beatings and torture during this detention.

In March 2018, Russian authorities charged Sagandzhi under Part 2 of Article 208 of the Russian Criminal Code for alleged participation in an illegal armed formation. This concerned the so-called 'Crimean Tatar Volunteer Battalion named after Noman Çelebicihan,' which operated on the administrative border of mainland Ukraine with occupied Crimea.

According to the Russian investigation, Sagandzhi allegedly joined the battalion in 2016, underwent military training, participated in fortification construction, and performed household tasks. Sagandzhi denied these allegations.

The case had issues with evidence. Notably, one interrogation protocol cited by the prosecution was deemed inadmissible by the court due to violations of the right to defense. Additionally, Sagandzhi was not identified in video recordings of the battalion's activities included in the case.

The defense provided documents that, according to them, confirmed Sagandzhi's medical treatment in Kyiv during the period when the investigation claimed he was in the battalion. The court did not accept these documents as sufficient evidence.

On January 23, 2019, the Leninsky District Court of Simferopol sentenced Fevzi Sagandzhi to 10 years and 6 months in a strict regime colony.

On May 14, 2019, the Supreme Court of Crimea upheld the sentence.

The Crimean Tatar Resource Center classifies Fevzi Sagandzhi as a Ukrainian citizen persecuted by Russia on charges of alleged participation in the Noman Çelebicihan Battalion. Human rights defenders emphasize the systematic nature of such persecutions of residents of occupied Crimea.

In 2022, during the transfer from Correctional Colony No. 11 in Stavropol Krai to Prison No. 2 of the Federal Penitentiary Service in Vladimir Oblast — 'Vladimir Central' — Sagandzhi reportedly suffered physical and psychological abuse, according to human rights defenders. There were also reports of denial of necessary medical care.

According to current data from the Representative Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Fevzi Sagandzhi is held in Prison No. 2 'Vladimir Central' in Vladimir, Russian Federation.

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

Update date: 09.09.2026.