Detention: On January 26, 2024, Ismail Shemshedinov was detained by Russian security forces following a search of his home in the temporarily occupied village of Islam-Terek, Kirovsky district, Crimea. After the search, he was taken to an unknown location. His family was told he would supposedly make contact in three days, but this did not happen. His whereabouts remained unknown for over a year.

Sentence: In July 2025, the so-called Supreme Court of occupied Crimea sentenced Ismail Shemshedinov to 13 years in a strict regime colony, followed by 1 year and 10 months of restricted freedom. He was found guilty of 'state treason.' The charges were based on claims by Russian security forces of alleged cooperation with the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Ismail Shemshedinov is a Crimean Tatar, resident of occupied Crimea. According to the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, he was 29 years old at the time of his detention. He worked as a masseur, was a trained nurse, and focused on the rehabilitation of children with special needs. At the time of his detention, Shemshedinov had a wife and a three-month-old daughter.

On January 26, 2024, Russian security forces came to Shemshedinov's house in Islam-Terek. They conducted a search and then took him with them. According to the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, the security forces read some 'court ruling' to the family but did not explain the reasons for the search or leave any documents regarding the investigative actions. Shemshedinov was taken to an unknown location. According to his mother, Elzara Abibullayeva, he was taken in his home clothes, just a t-shirt and sports pants, despite the freezing weather.

After her son's disappearance, Elzara Abibullayeva contacted various Russian security agencies in occupied Crimea, but they denied any information about Shemshedinov's whereabouts. The family had no official information about him for a long time. In March 2024, the Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea reported that Shemshedinov's whereabouts could not be established for over a month.

The Crimean Tatar Resource Center included Shemshedinov among the unlawfully persecuted residents of Crimea and emphasized the violation of his rights. For over a year after his detention, the family did not know where he was. Only on April 15, 2025, did the Crimean Tatar Resource Center receive information from reliable sources that Shemshedinov was held in Pre-trial Detention Centre No. 2 in Simferopol. The Office of the President of Ukraine also reported in April 2025 about his unlawful detention in this centre.

It later became known about the criminal prosecution of Shemshedinov on charges of 'state treason.' According to the Russian investigation, in 2022, he allegedly established contact with a representative of Ukrainian military intelligence and subsequently collected and transmitted information about the location of oil depots, military facilities, and Rosgvardiya units in Kerch. The Russian side also claimed his alleged support for the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People and critical statements about the occupation of Crimea. These claims belong to the prosecution and cannot be considered as facts established by an independent court.

In July 2025, the occupation court sentenced Shemshedinov to 13 years in a strict regime colony and 1 year and 10 months of restricted freedom after release. The Crimean Tatar Resource Center views such criminal cases against residents of occupied Crimea as a tool of political pressure and persecution.

As of April 2026, Ismail Shemshedinov's name remains on the list of Crimean political prisoners by the Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. As of September 14, 2026, the fact of Ismail Shemshedinov's sentencing to 13 years of imprisonment is reliably confirmed, but his specific place of serving the sentence after the verdict is not confirmed in available authorized sources.

Information used from open sources: ZMINA, Crimean Tatar Resource Center, Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Suspilne Crimea, Crimea Platform, QIRIM media.

Date of update: 14.09.2026.