Detention: Lenie Umerova is a Crimean Tatar activist and Ukrainian citizen, born on March 14, 1998, near Dzhankoy and raised in Yevpatoria. After the occupation of Crimea in 2014, she moved to Kyiv, where she worked in marketing and communications and engaged in volunteer activities. Following the full-scale Russian invasion, she assisted internally displaced persons. At the end of 2022, upon learning of her father's severe cancer, she traveled to occupied Crimea via Georgia. On December 4, 2022, Russian border guards detained her at the 'Verkhniy Lars' checkpoint after crossing the Russian-Georgian border. Initially, she was given administrative arrest for allegedly violating the rules of stay in Russia. After the arrest ended, she was not released but detained again on new administrative charges, effectively preventing her from leaving Russia.

For several months, Lenie Umerova was held under administrative arrests, with new formal charges each time. In April 2023, FSB officers abducted her after another release, flew her to Moscow on a private plane, and placed her in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention centre. There, a criminal case was initiated against her under the article on 'espionage' (Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code). Russian investigators claimed she was allegedly collecting information for Ukrainian intelligence services, but no convincing evidence was publicly presented. Umerova categorically denied all accusations, refused to plead guilty, and did not sign any fabricated documents. She stated that during interrogations, FSB officers exerted psychological pressure, threatened her with long-term imprisonment, sexual violence, and death, and attempted to coerce her into cooperation and self-incrimination.

While in Moscow's Lefortovo pre-trial detention centre, Lenie was mostly held in solitary confinement. She reported that to avoid losing the ability to speak, she had to talk to herself and objects in the cell. Short court sessions were regularly held, during which her detention was automatically extended without proper justification. In August 2023, the Russian side officially charged her with espionage, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Sentence: No court verdict was issued in the case of Lenie Umerova. The trial did not proceed to completion. She was unlawfully detained for over 650 days in the Russian Federation on fabricated charges of espionage. On September 13, 2024, Lenie Umerova was released during a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia. Alongside her, 48 other Ukrainians returned to Ukraine.

After her release, Lenie Umerova publicly spoke about the conditions of detention in Russian facilities. She reported psychological pressure, isolation, threats, systematic attempts to coerce her into confessing, censorship of correspondence, and inadequate medical care. She stated that even letters to her family were written in Ukrainian, despite the dissatisfaction of the detention centre administration.

Lenie Umerova comes from a Crimean Tatar family. Her desire to see her gravely ill father, who remained in occupied Crimea with cancer, prompted her journey. Her family actively campaigned for her release throughout her unlawful detention. After her return, Lenie emphasized that thoughts of her family helped her endure nearly two years of unlawful detention.

Lenie Umerova's case is one of the most notable examples of Russia's unlawful persecution of Ukrainian civilian hostages following the full-scale invasion. Ukrainian authorities and international human rights organizations view her criminal prosecution as politically motivated and in violation of international humanitarian law.

After her release, Lenie Umerova engaged in active public advocacy. She participates in international forums, advocacy campaigns, and public discussions, highlighting the unlawful detention of Ukrainian civilians by Russia and the need for their release. She has participated in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and other international platforms, calling for the release of all Ukrainian civilian hostages unlawfully held by Russia. Lenie is a member of the public organization 'Numo, Sestry!' - a community of women who have survived Russian captivity, occupation, or other war crimes, as well as human rights defenders, journalists, and activists.

Photo: private page Azeez Umerov (Facebook).

Information sourced from open sources: Ukrinform, Platfor.ma, Ukrainska Pravda. Life.

Last updated: 09.07.2026.