Political Prisoners

Izzetov Riza

Detention: On March 27, 2019, FSB officers conducted mass searches in Crimea, particularly in the Kamyanka and Stroganovka districts near Simferopol. Following these events, Crimean Tatar human rights defender and civic activist Riza Izzetov was detained at his home. He was arrested on charges of involvement with the organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in Russia but operates legally in Ukraine and most countries worldwide. Sentence: On March 10, 2022, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Riza Izzetov to 19 years of imprisonment. The first 5 years are to be served in a prison with the strictest conditions, and the remainder in a high-security colony. Additionally, the court imposed 1.5 years of restricted freedom after release. On March 28, 2023, the Military Court of Appeal in...

Kachkurkin Oleksandr

Detention: January 28, 2026, Almaty, Kazakhstan. After deportation to the Russian Federation, he was detained by FSB officers immediately upon arrival in Moscow. Sentence: As of July 18, 2026, no sentence has been issued. Oleksandr Kachkurkin is held in pre-trial detention centre No. 2 (Lefortovo), Moscow. He is charged under Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code (state treason) for allegedly providing financial assistance to Ukraine. The article prescribes a penalty ranging from 12 years imprisonment to life imprisonment. Human rights defenders consider the prosecution politically motivated.

Kadochnikov Borys

Detention: Borys Kadochnikov, a resident of Simferopol, was detained by Russian security forces in 2023 in the temporarily occupied Crimea. Russian investigators accused him of alleged 'collaboration with a foreign state.' According to the FSB of the Russian Federation, Kadochnikov allegedly maintained contact with a representative of the Security Service of Ukraine and carried out tasks related to the transfer of information. The political prisoner became another victim of the wave of persecution on charges of 'state treason,' 'espionage,' and 'collaboration with Ukraine.' Sentence: On December 17, 2024, the Russian-controlled Supreme Court of the Republic of Crimea sentenced Borys Kadochnikov to 4 years in a general regime colony, a fine of 300,000 rubles, and 1 year and 6 months of restricted freedom after release. In March 2025, the appellate instance reviewed the case, but the sentence remained in force. At the end of 2025, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation overturned the decision and sent the case for a new trial with the prospect of reclassifying the charge to a more severe article on 'state treason,' which could lead to a significantly harsher punishment.

Kadyrov Edem

Detention: On January 23, 2019, in occupied Crimea, 25-year-old Edem Kadyrov, a resident of the village of Yarkoe Pole, Kirovsky district, AR Crimea, was detained. The Russian FSB accused him of allegedly joining the "Crimean Tatar Volunteer Battalion named after Noman Çelebicihan" in 2016, which is based in the border areas of the Kherson region. He allegedly underwent special training there, including handling firearms, and served as a "personal bodyguard for the battalion commander Lenur Islyamov, engaged in constructing facilities and barriers near the border, and inspecting vehicles." Islyamov publicly denied this version, stating he was not acquainted with Kadyrov. On April 23, 2019, Kadyrov's arrest was extended. Sentence: On May 6, 2019, Kadyrov's case was considered in a special procedure during a single court session.

Kadyrov Murat

Arrest: On February 14, 2023, FSB officers detained Murat Kadyrov, a resident of occupied Sevastopol. He was accused of so-called 'financing terrorism' based on a money transfer of 3,000 rubles made eight years prior to support a low-income individual from Dagestan before the Muslim holiday of Kurban Bayram. Sentence: The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Murat Kadyrov to 10 years in prison under Article 205.1 of the Russian Criminal Code ('financing terrorism'). Appeals and cassation courts upheld the sentence.

Kadyrov Osman

Arrest: On February 14, 2023, officers of the FSB of the Russian Federation detained Crimean Tatar Osman Kadyrov, a resident of the village of Yarke Pole in occupied Crimea. The basis for the prosecution was the accusation of involvement with the so-called "Noman Çelebicihan Battalion." Sentence: In June 2023, Osman was sentenced to 2 years in a correctional colony, and in August, the term was increased to 5 years, with the first year in prison.

Kadyrov Suleyman

Detention: On October 5, 2016, FSB officers searched the home of Crimean Tatar activist Suleyman Kadyrov in Feodosia, seizing a laptop and phone. The reason was a March 2016 repost of a video from blogger Demyan Demyanenko's YouTube channel titled 'New Battalion' with a Facebook comment: 'Suleyman Kadyrov agrees! Crimea is Ukraine. Always has been, is, and will be! Thanks to the author for the video! I support it!'. On October 18, 2017, he was officially charged under Part 2 of Article 280.1 of the Russian Criminal Code ('public calls for actions aimed at violating the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation'). In April 2017, Rosfinmonitoring included Kadyrov in the list of 'extremists and terrorists'. Sentence: During the investigation, a linguistic examination determined the comment was not an 'incitement' but merely an 'approval' of extremist actions. Subsequently, the court ordered an additional psychological-linguistic examination for final qualification. The prosecution requested a 3-year suspended sentence. On March 1, 2018, the Russian-controlled Feodosia City Court sentenced Suleyman Kadyrov to a 2-year suspended sentence with a 2-year ban on public activity. On May 3, 2018, the Supreme Court of Crimea upheld the sentence. The activist did not admit guilt and maintained his stance on Crimea belonging to Ukraine. On March 2, 2020, the probation period ended – Kadyrov is released. On June 15, 2020, Rosfinmonitoring removed him from the list of 'extremists and terrorists'. Suleyman Kadyrov is a Crimean Tatar activist from Feodosia, a member of the regional Mejlis. At the time of the case, he was about 59 years old. In his final statement at the trial, he declared: 'I have never hidden my pro-Ukrainian position, I have always said this – it is my right as a person and a citizen. I do not hide it. I do not consider myself guilty.'

Karakashev Yevhen

Arrest: On February 1, 2018, approximately 20 Russian security officers, accompanied by witnesses, conducted a search at Yevhen Karakashev's home in Yevpatoria. The reason was two videos—'Untitled' and 'The Last Interview of the Primorsky Partisans'—posted publicly on his VKontakte page in 2014–2015. Karakashev does not recall attaching these videos. Additionally, messages in a closed VKontakte group were included in the case. Karakashev believes the case was fabricated due to his activist activities, particularly his participation in a protest against the development of a resort area near a salt lake in Yevpatoria. Sentence: On April 19, 2019, the North Caucasus District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Yevhen Karakashev to 6 years in a general regime colony under part 2 of article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code ('public calls for terrorism'). The charge of inciting hatred and enmity (part 1 of article 282) was dropped following partial decriminalization. On August 15, 2020, the Supreme Court of Russia upheld the sentence. He initially served his sentence in Correctional Colony No. 3, then in Correctional Colony No. 1 in Kabardino-Balkaria (village of Kamenka, Chegemsky district). In November 2022, he was transferred to Balashov Prison in Saratov Oblast. On February 1, 2024, after serving the full six-year term, Yevhen Karakashev was released.

Karamurzaiev Eldar

Detention: On February 24, 2025, Russian occupying forces conducted a search at the home of Crimean Tatar Eldar Karamurzaiev in the village of Novooleksiivka in the temporarily occupied part of Kherson Oblast and unlawfully detained him. The occupiers accused him of alleged participation in the Crimean Tatar volunteer battalion named after Noman Çelebicihan and aiding the civil blockade of Crimea. After the detention, his FIAT car and its registration certificate were confiscated. Sentence: On December 12, 2025, the occupation court in Henichesk, Kherson Oblast, sentenced Eldar Karamurzaiev to 8 years in a high-security penal colony.

Kashka Arsen

Detention: On March 5, 2024, FSB officers conducted a large-scale wave of searches in the homes of Crimean Tatars in Dzhankoy and the Dzhankoy district. Following the search, Arsen Kashka was detained along with other Crimean Tatar activists, who are involved in the so-called 'third Dzhankoy Hizb ut-Tahrir case'. Sentence: As of July 18, 2026, no verdict has been issued. Arsen Kashka is accused in the so-called 'third Dzhankoy Hizb ut-Tahrir case'. The Russian Federation charges him with participation in the activities of the organization 'Hizb ut-Tahrir' (part 2 of article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code). Human rights organizations consider the criminal prosecution politically motivated.

Ametov Kazim

Detention: On November 23, 2017, in occupied Crimea, Kazim Ametov was detained by security forces along with three other Crimean Tatars – Bekir Degermendzhi, Asan Chapukh, and Ruslan Trubach. They were accused of extorting Yusuf Aytan, a Turkish citizen. The detainees explained they were merely trying to recover funds stolen from Vedzhie Kashka, a veteran of the Crimean Tatar national movement. Vedzhie Kashka, 83, who witnessed the detentions, experienced a health decline on the spot and died in an ambulance. The case became known as the 'Vedzhie Kashka case.' Sentence: In April 2019, an occupation court sentenced Kazim Ametov to a 3-year suspended sentence under Part 2 of Article 163 of the Russian Criminal Code ('extortion'). After serving the suspended sentence, his conviction was lifted in April 2021...

Kestan Eldar

Detention: On July 7, 2023, Russian occupiers detained Crimean Tatar Eldar Kestan, a member of the Partizany local Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people and a resident of Partizany village (now Rykove) in Henichesk district, Kherson region. After his detention, his family was unaware of his whereabouts for over a month. He was held in isolation in occupied Chongar without access to a lawyer, contact with family, or proper legal protection. Sentence: On November 28, 2023, the Russian-controlled so-called 'Henichesk District Court' in the occupied part of Kherson region found Eldar Kestan guilty under Part 2 of Article 208 of the Russian Criminal Code ('participation in an armed formation not provided for by federal law') and sentenced him to 3 years and 6 months of imprisonment. After sentencing, he...