03 January 2025
Teimur and Uzeir Abdullaiev Remain in Critical Conditions in Salavat Colony
Teimur and Uzeir Abdullaiev, Crimean Tatar activists unlawfully sentenced by the occupation court, have been detained under critical and near-torturous conditions for five years in a colony in Salavat, Bashkortostan.
Since his arrival at the colony, Teimur Abdullaiev has never been transferred to the general prison unit. Upon arrival, he was arbitrarily placed in a punitive isolation cell, where his detention has been repeatedly extended based on fabricated allegations of “violations.” The systematic confinement in solitary isolation has become a tool for methodically breaking his will and destroying his health.
The political prisoner’s health has sharply deteriorated. According to his mother, Diliara Abdullaieva, Teimur suffers from numerous illnesses resulting from the harsh treatment in detention. These include hypertensive crisis, chronic joint pain, kidney dysfunction, and gastrointestinal disorders. The conditions of detention in damp, cold cells with minimal facilities exacerbate his condition. For instance, the bed in punitive isolation cell is secured upright from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., forcing inmates to either stand or sit on a small stool all day. Prolonged confinement on the concrete floor has already caused severe health issues, including kidney and bladder inflammation.
Despite the urgent need for medication, the colony administration blocks its delivery. Teimur has requested pain relief medication for his joints, blood pressure treatments, and stomach remedies, but these requests remain unanswered. His mother received a cynical response from the colony administration: “If he dies, we will inform you.”
Uzeir Abdullaiev’s health condition is equally concerning. Despite an official medical diagnosis of an acquired heart defect, the colony administration continues to place him in punitive isolation cell. In April 2023, he was confined to isolation for 10 days for a minor “violation” — drying a towel. After his release, a doctor confirmed that the conditions in a punitive isolation cell posed a significant threat to his life. Nevertheless, the administration continues to disregard medical recommendations, repeatedly subjecting Uzeir to inhumane conditions.
Brothers Teimur and Uzeir Abdullaiev, detained on October 12, 2016, during mass searches in the village of Strohonivka, Simferopol district, have been unlawfully imprisoned for over seven years. On June 18, 2019, the so-called court in Rostov-on-Don illegally sentenced Teimur to 17 years in a high-security penal colony with an additional restriction of freedom for 1 year and 6 months, and Uzeir to 12.5 years in a high-security penal colony. Teimur has 10 more years of illegal imprisonment to serve under inhumane conditions. The brothers urgently require medical help, legal assistance and immediate release.
Human rights violations, including inhumane detention conditions and the denial of proper medical care, have become systematic in Russian penal colonies. These practices are part of a broader policy of repression targeting unlawfully detained Ukrainian citizens based on ethnic, political, and religious grounds.
We call on international human rights organizations and democratic states to increase pressure on Russia to secure the release of Teimur and Uzeir Abdullaiev, as well as all unlawfully imprisoned Ukrainian political prisoners.