11 March 2025

Asan Akhtemov Illegally Transferred to a Penal Colony in Russia’s Arkhangelsk Region

Crimean political prisoner Asan Akhtemov was illegally transferred to Correctional Colony No. 5 in the city of Koriazhma, Arkhangelsk region, Russian Federation. According to his sister, the transfer was extremely difficult, and Asan fell ill during transportation. He is currently in quarantine.

Asan Akhtemov, born in 1989, is from the village of Levadky in the Simferopol district of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. From 2015 to 2020, he worked as a journalist and assistant editor of the Avdet Crimean Tatar newspaper.

In September 2021, Asan Akhtemov was unlawfully detained by Russian FSB officers along with his brother Aziz Akhtemov and the First Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Nariman Dzhelyal, in occupied Crimea on fabricated charges of “sabotage” on a gas pipeline in the village of Perevalne.

The Akhtemov brothers were subjected to torture, including electric shocks, physical and psychological violence. In September 2022, the occupation “court” illegally sentenced Asan Akhtemov to 15 years in a maximum-security penal colony and imposed a fine of 500,000 rubles.

The international community must recognize that the transfer of imprisoned individuals from temporarily occupied territory to the territory of the occupying state constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. The health condition of Asan Akhtemov raises serious concerns. The Russian Federation bears full responsibility for preserving his life and well-being.

We call on international human rights organizations, the governments of democratic countries, and international institutions to intensify pressure on the Russian Federation to ensure the immediate release of all political prisoners unlawfully detained in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea and within the Russian Federation. The international community must continue monitoring the situation and take all necessary measures to protect the rights of Ukrainian citizens who have become victims of political persecution by the Russian occupation administration.