05 May 2025
May 5 — Birthday of Server Mustafaiev, a Ukrainian Human Rights Defender Still Unlawfully Imprisoned
Today, May 5, marks the birthday of Crimean Tatar civic activist Server Mustafaiev. He turns 39 while being unlawfully imprisoned in the Russian Federation.
Server Mustafaiev is a Ukrainian human rights defender and citizen journalist. He was born on May 5, 1986, in the settlement of Ziadin, Uzbekistan, where his family had been deported from Crimea in 1944.
He later returned to Bakhchysarai, but in 2018 was detained by FSB officers following a search of his home. He was charged under articles of the Russian Criminal Code carrying up to 20 years of imprisonment for “participation in the activities of a terrorist organization” and up to 10 years for “preparation for a violent seizure of power.” In 2020, he was sentenced to 14 years in a high-security penal colony and is currently being held in Penal Colony No. 1 in the Tambov region.
Chronology of the Persecution of Server Mustafaiev
On May 21, 2018, Server Mustafaiev was detained in Bakhchysarai following a search of his home. He was charged in the case of the so-called “second Bakhchysarai group of Hizb ut-Tahrir” with participating in a terrorist organization (Part 2, Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code) and preparing to violently seize power (Part 1, Article 30 and Article 278 of the Russian Criminal Code).
In September 2019, Server Mustafaiev was transferred from temporarily occupied Crimea to Detention Center No. 1 in Krasnodar, and later to Detention Center No. 1 in Rostov-on-Don. The trial began there in November. During one of the hearings, on March 3, 2020, Mustafaiev fell ill, but the court refused to provide medical assistance. The following day, he had a high fever and symptoms of a viral infection, yet he received no proper treatment.
On September 16, 2020, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Server Mustafaiev to 14 years in a high-security penal colony. He is serving his sentence in Penal Colony No. 1 in the Tambov region, Russia.
In 2023, Server Mustafaiev enrolled in a law program remotely. However, the prison administration prevented him from continuing his studies by withholding essential equipment, including a laptop. On February 8, 2024, he was transferred to even stricter detention conditions and was officially labeled as “prone to terrorism,” a designation that effectively blocked his access to education.
These harsher conditions have severely impacted Mustafaiev’s health. In 2024, reports highlighted a vitamin D deficiency, vision problems, and knee joint issues likely caused by prolonged isolation. In February 2025, he complained of lower back pain and a flare-up of psoriasis. On April 6, 2025, he was placed in a punitive isolation cell following a facility inspection, during which a member of the inspection commission reportedly made discriminatory remarks against Crimean Tatars.
The story of Server Mustafaiev is a clear example of targeted political persecution and the systematic violation of human rights by the Russian occupation administration against Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian activists.