10 December 2024
Crimean Political Prisoner Oleksandr Sizikov Illegally Transferred to Russia Despite His Visual Impairment
Political prisoner Oleksandr Sizikov has been unlawfully transferred from occupied Crimea to a Russian prison despite his visual impairment. Sizikov’s defense team had demanded his release due to his blindness, but the occupational penal service issued a formal refusal.
Oleksandr Sizikov lost his sight entirely following a car accident. He was detained during mass searches in occupied Crimea on July 7, 2020, and, along with six other Crimean Tatars, was accused of alleged involvement with the Islamic political Hizb ut-Tahrir party. At the time, he was placed under house arrest.
On May 17, 2023, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced him to 17 years of imprisonment. On September 14, 2024, Sizikov was forcibly taken from his home in the village of Turhenivka, Bakhchysarai district, Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The blind prisoner spent three months in Simferopol’s Detention Facility No. 1, confined to a tiny eight-square-meter two-person cell.
Two days after Sizikov was placed in the detention center, his lawyer, Safiie Shabanova, filed a motion to halt his transfer to a Russian penal colony, citing his medical diagnosis, which is included in the list of conditions preventing incarceration, as defined by a 2004 Russian government resolution. Shabanova requested a medical commission to evaluate his condition and petitioned the court for Sizikov’s release on health grounds. However, the Federal Penitentiary Service of the occupation administration formally denied the request.
Sizikov learned of the upcoming transfer from Crimea on November 27. Yesterday, December 9, he was taken from the peninsula. He is currently en route to Russia’s Krasnodar Krai, but this is only an interim stop, and the final destination of the political prisoner remains unknown.
Russia continues to flagrantly violate international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions by transferring Ukrainian citizens from occupied territories to Russian territory, a practice that constitutes a form of “silent deportation.” The international community must support Ukraine in its fight against Russia and in the liberation of its territories, as only the de-occupation of Crimea can ensure security, full adherence to human rights and freedoms, and the restoration of international order.