Arrest: On July 30, 2016, FSB officers detained Redvan Suleymanov at Simferopol airport. For nearly two weeks, his whereabouts were unknown. Only on August 12, 2016, did the FSB release a video of his interrogation along with footage of Yevhen Panov and Andriy Zakhtey, claiming to have uncovered a 'Ukrainian sabotage group' in occupied Crimea. According to Russian security services, Suleymanov allegedly cooperated with the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, was to obtain a Russian passport, work at Simferopol airport or bus station, gather information on military sites, and find locations for planting explosive devices. These claims later formed the basis of the FSB's information campaign regarding the so-called 'Crimean saboteurs case.'

Sentence: On August 10, 2017, the Russian-controlled Railway District Court of Simferopol found Redvan Suleymanov guilty of knowingly false reporting of an act of terrorism committed by a group of persons (part 2, article 207 of the Russian Criminal Code) and sentenced him to 1 year and 8 months in a general regime colony. Additionally, the court ordered him to pay over 3.7 million rubles in compensation for alleged damages to the Kerch ferry, Simferopol airport, Sevastopol bus station, and Russian emergency services.

Eventually, the criminal case was reclassified under part 2, article 207 of the Russian Criminal Code — 'knowingly false reporting of an act of terrorism causing significant damage.' According to the investigation, while at Simferopol airport, Suleymanov called the police and connected the duty officer with a person who reported alleged bomb threats at the airport, Simferopol's central bus station, the Kerch ferry, and other transport facilities. This version formed the basis of the accusation, although no evidence of sabotage preparation or connection with other defendants in the 'Crimean saboteurs case' was presented in court.

Redvan Suleymanov is a Crimean Tatar, born in 1990, a native of Ivanivka village, Simferopol district, Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Before the occupation of Crimea, he worked as a guard at Pre-trial Detention Centre No. 1 in Simferopol and served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine under contract. After the peninsula's occupation in 2014, he refused to join Russian service, left the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and moved to Zaporizhzhia, where he worked as a construction worker. He periodically visited Crimea to see his parents. Unmarried. Despite loud claims of sabotage preparation, the FSB could not substantiate these accusations during the investigation.

After his arrest, FSB officers searched his parents' house in the Simferopol district. Relatives reported that they were unable to see him for a long time, and the state-appointed lawyer advised against hiring independent defense. According to his mother, Redvan's psychological state was extremely difficult while in pre-trial detention. In one interview, lawyer Emil Kurbedinov mentioned that during visits, Suleymanov often played the Ukrainian anthem and cried, struggling with imprisonment and isolation.

During the trial, Suleymanov admitted guilt only regarding the phone call itself but disagreed with the amount of claimed damages. The defense insisted on reclassifying the charge to part 1, article 207 of the Russian Criminal Code, which carries a significantly lighter penalty. Nevertheless, in October 2017, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Crimea upheld the sentence.

In the spring of 2018, Redvan Suleymanov completed his sentence and was released from a general regime colony in the Kirov region of Russia. After his release, he returned to Crimea.

The case of Redvan Suleymanov was the first in the so-called 'Crimean saboteurs case,' which the FSB used to shape a public narrative about alleged Ukrainian sabotage groups operating in occupied Crimea. Initial charges of sabotage preparation and cooperation with Ukrainian military intelligence were not confirmed in court and were effectively reduced to a case of false bomb threat reporting. Human rights organizations highlighted inconsistencies in the investigation's version, the prolonged concealment of the detainee's whereabouts, the lack of independent defense at the initial stage of proceedings, and the use of video 'confessions' for the FSB's information campaign.

Information sourced from open sources: Crimean Tatar Resource Center, CrimeaSOS, Hromadske, Ukrayinska Pravda, Krym.Realii, ZMINA, ATR.

Photo: ATR.

Update date: 09.07.2026.