UN building in Geneva. UN Special Rapporteur: Russia must urgently release seriously ill human rights defender Human Rights
Russian authorities must immediately release Crimean human rights defender Tofik Abdulgaziyev on medical grounds before his health deteriorates further, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders said on Friday.
The health of Abdulgaziyev, a Crimean Tatar human rights defender serving a 12-year prison sentence, has rapidly deteriorated since March 2024 and remains grave. Despite being diagnosed with several medical conditions that qualify him for release under the government’s list of illnesses that make him unfit to serve his sentence, the Metallurgichesky District Court in Chelyabinsk on 6 August 2024 rejected a defence motion for his release on medical grounds. The court reportedly relied on the findings of a prison commission, ignoring an independent medical report.
“The information received about Mr Abdulgaziyev’s health raises serious concerns about his rights to life and health and the possibility of ill-treatment,” said Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders.
After being transferred to a prison in Verkhneuralsk, Chelyabinsk region, in July 2023, Abdulgaziyev reportedly lost weight dramatically and suffered from severe joint pain. In March 2024, his condition became critical and he was taken to a specialized tuberculosis hospital, where he was reportedly placed in solitary confinement and transferred to intensive care only after he lost consciousness two weeks later.
Abdulgaziyev is reportedly still in the hospital. He is being held in a basement cell with no hot water and is unable to eat almost any of the prison food, as it often contains pork. He has not received any food for at least three days after being released from intensive care.
“These conditions are intolerable for anyone, but especially for someone with a serious illness,” Mary Lawlor said. “Mr Abdulgaziyev is also being held 2,700 kilometres from his family in Simferopol, adding to his suffering.”
Before his arrest, Tofik Abdulgaziyev was an activist for human rights groups in Crimea. He organised events for the children of political prisoners, delivered food to prisons and attended trials in solidarity.
The human rights defender was arrested on 27 March 2019 after security services raided his and his mother’s home in Simferopol. On 12 May 2022, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don found him guilty of participating in a terrorist organisation and preparing a violent seizure of power. The charges are widely considered to be fabricated. His case was part of a wider crackdown in which more than 20 Crimean Tatars have been arrested.
“Mr Abdulgaziyev’s case is one of many examples of the persecution of human rights defenders in Crimea,” said Mary Lawlor. “I have repeatedly called on the Russian authorities to end this practice and to ensure a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders to carry out their work. Urgent action is essential in this case. Tofik Abdulgaziyev must be released now, before it is too late.”
The Special Rapporteurs are not UN staff and are independent from any government or organisation. They work in a personal capacity and do not receive a salary for their work.