Political Prisoners

Kurtdede Akim

Detention: Akim Kurtdede is subject to politically motivated persecution by the Russian Federation. Sentence: Russia initiated a criminal case against him under Part 2 of Article 208 of the Russian Criminal Code ('participation in an illegal armed formation'), linking him to the Crimean Tatar volunteer battalion named after Noman Çelebicihan. Russian law enforcement declared him wanted.

Kurtnezirov Emir

Detention: Emir was detained on February 5, 2025. According to his sister, some literature was 'planted' during a search. He was taken into custody the same day, accused of participating in the activities of a terrorist organization. Sentence: As of July 19, 2026, no sentence has been issued. Emir Kurtnezirov remains in custody. The Russian Federation accuses him under Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code ('participation in the activities of a terrorist organization'), alleging involvement with the Islamic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is legal in Ukraine but banned in Russia. Human rights defenders consider the case politically motivated.

Kuzio Darya

Detention: On August 3, 2021, following a series of searches in the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses, Russian investigators initiated a criminal case against Darya Mykolaivna Kuzio. She was charged under Part 1 of Article 282.3 of the Russian Criminal Code ('financing extremist organization activities'), alleging she made donations to the Jehovah's Witnesses religious community. She was placed under travel restrictions as a preventive measure. Human rights defenders emphasize that the persecution is solely related to her religious beliefs. Sentence: On February 27, 2023, the Russia-controlled Yalta City Court found Darya Kuzio guilty and sentenced her to a 3-year suspended sentence. On March 22, 2024, the Russia-controlled Supreme Court of Crimea overturned this sentence and sent the case for retrial.

Kuzio Taras

Arrest: On March 4, 2021, FSB officers conducted a series of searches in the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses in Yalta, after which Taras Oleksandrovych Kuzio was detained. He was charged under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code ('organization of extremist organization activities'), alleging he organized worship services and religious gatherings of Jehovah's Witnesses. After his arrest, he was placed under house arrest, later replaced by a travel restriction. Human rights defenders emphasized that the persecution was solely related to the exercise of the right to freedom of religion. Sentence: On February 27, 2023, the Russia-controlled Yalta City Court found Taras Kuzio guilty and sentenced him to 6 years and 6 months in a general regime colony. He was taken into custody directly in the courtroom. On March 22, 2024, the Supreme Court of occupied Crimea overturned the sentence for all four defendants and sent the case for a new trial. Following this, Taras Kuzio was released from custody, but the criminal prosecution did not cease.

Kyselov Oleksii

Detention: On July 22, 2022, former Ukrainian Navy captain and volunteer Oleksii Kyselov was abducted by Russian armed forces in the temporarily occupied city of Henichesk, Kherson region. He was held in the basement of a local vocational school and tortured, then handed over to the FSB and transferred to occupied Crimea, placed in the Simferopol pre-trial detention centre. Sentence: On February 17, 2023, the Russian-controlled Dzhankoi District Court in occupied Crimea sentenced Oleksii Kyselov to 8 years and 6 months in a high-security penal colony for alleged participation in the Noman Çelebicihan volunteer battalion. On August 22, 2023, the occupation Supreme Court of Crimea upheld the sentence without changes.

Kysliakov Vladyslav

Arrest: In October 2023, 22-year-old Kerch resident and sailor Vladyslav Kysliakov was initially detained and arrested for 10 days by Russian security forces due to anti-war publications. Later, he was taken into custody by FSB officers in occupied Crimea, accused of allegedly collecting and transmitting information to Ukrainian intelligence about the location of Russian air defense systems. Sentence: On October 18, 2024, the so-called Supreme Court of annexed Crimea sentenced Vladyslav Kysliakov to 13 years in a strict regime colony under Article 275 of the Russian Federation Criminal Code ('treason'). He was also given an additional penalty of 1.5 years of restricted freedom after serving the main term. The Russian court proceedings were conducted in complete secrecy.

Kytayska Larisa

Detention: On July 18, 2016, FSB officers detained Larisa Kytayska, a public activist from Yalta and member of the VO "Svoboda" party. On August 12, 2016, she was charged with a crime and given a travel restriction. The basis was a social media post: the occupation authorities accused her of "spreading Russophobic ideas" and "inciting hatred," citing posts where Kytayska openly condemned Russia's occupation of Crimea. Sentence: On December 26, 2017, a Russia-controlled court sentenced Larisa Kytayska to a 2-year suspended sentence under Part 1, Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Incitement of hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity"). The case was closed on January 23, 2019, due to partial decriminalization of Article 282 for first-time offenders reposting online. Kytayska learned about the case closure by chance—she was informed only 45 minutes before the court session. "They closed this case very quietly, opened it very loudly," she commented. The confiscated computer and property were never returned. Larisa Kytayska was born on August 20, 1963. A resident of Yalta, she is a socio-political activist and member of VO "Svoboda." During the Euromaidan, she took to the streets with pro-Ukrainian posters, which is when she met Olga Skrypnyk, coordinator of the Crimean Human Rights Group. Kytayska was skeptical of the publications mentioned in the case: "The publication deemed extremist was not mine—most likely, my account was hacked, and poems with obscene words suddenly appeared on the page."

Lahutin Mykola

Detention: On June 10, 2020, FSB officers detained Crimean resident Mykola Lahutin in connection with the so-called case of 'preparing a terrorist act' in Simferopol. Along with him, other Crimeans were arrested, accused by Russian security forces of planning an explosion at one of the city's markets and publicly calling for extremist activities. Sentence: On June 16, 2023, the Southern District Military Court of the Russian Federation in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Mykola Lahutin to 7 years in a high-security penal colony, with the first four years in prison, a fine of 250,000 rubles, and subsequent restrictions on freedom.

Lasinskyi Hennadii

Arrest: On July 25, 2022, Russian military and security forces detained Hennadii at his home. Sentence: Hennadii Lasinskyi was sentenced by the occupation court to 3 years of imprisonment under Article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, forwarding, or carrying of firearms”). Before the sentence, he was held for over a year without official procedural status or court decision. Human rights defenders consider his case politically motivated persecution and unlawful detention.

Lavryk Ruslan

Detention: On June 7, 2024, Russian occupation forces detained Enerhodar resident and Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant employee Ruslan Lavryk. Initially, he faced multiple administrative arrests for alleged curfew violations, followed by a criminal case accusing him of 'state treason' and 'espionage.' Sentence: On October 14, 2025, the so-called Zaporizhzhia Regional Court, established by the Russian occupation authorities, sentenced Ruslan Lavryk to 16 years in a high-security penal colony. On January 28, 2026, the Moscow appellate court upheld this sentence. Ruslan Yuriyovych Lavryk was born on September 24, 1970. He spent most of his life in Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia region, working as a radio and television engineer at the Center for Dispatch and Technological Management in the Energy Systems of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Umerova Lenie

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.

Seydametov Lenur

Arrest: On February 17, 2021, Russian security forces conducted mass searches in the homes of Crimean Tatars in Bilohirsk, Bakhchisarai, Simferopol, Sevastopol, and the Soviet District in occupied Crimea. Among those detained was Crimean Tatar activist Lenur Seydametov. Along with him, Timur Yalkabov, Azamat Eyupov, Yashar Shikhametov, Ernes Ibragimov, and Oleg Fedorov were also detained. After the search, Seydametov was taken to the FSB office in occupied Crimea and later placed in a pre-trial detention centre. The Russian side charged him under Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code for allegedly participating in the activities of an organization recognized as terrorist under Russian law, specifically Hizb ut-Tahrir. He was also accused of allegedly preparing to violently seize power under Part 1 of Article 30, Article 278 of the Russian Criminal Code. Sentence: On March 22, 2022, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Lenur Seydametov to 13 years of imprisonment in a strict regime colony, including 4 years in prison and 1 year of restricted freedom.