03 November 2025

Kajsa Ollongren Joined the Advocacy Mentorship Initiative for Crimean Political Prisoners

Kajsa Ollongren, the European Union Special Representative for Human Rights and former Minister of Defense, Minister of the Interior, and Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands, has become a mentor to one of the youngest Crimean political prisoners — Appaz Kurtamet.

The advocacy mentorship initiative was launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine with the support of the Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

Its goal is to draw the attention of the international community to the unlawful detention of Ukrainian citizens on the territory of the Russian Federation and to support their struggle for freedom and human rights.

“Today, I am honored to announce my mentorship of one of the youngest Crimean political prisoners, Appaz Kurtamet, as part of the Advocacy Mentorship Initiative launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Appaz turned 23 this summer. Instead of celebrating surrounded by his family and friends, he spent his birthday behind bars in a strict-regime colony in Russia’s Pskov region,” wrote Kajsa Ollongren on her Instagram page.

Appaz Kurtamet was illegally detained by Russian authorities at the age of 19. He was tortured by FSB officers and later sentenced to seven years in prison on fabricated charges of “financing an illegal armed formation.” The alleged reason was that he had lent 500 hryvnias to an acquaintance who was later identified by the occupation authorities as a member of the volunteer battalion “Crimea.”

Before the full-scale invasion, Appaz Kurtamet lived in Kyiv, worked at an IT company, volunteered, and taught the Crimean Tatar language at a cultural center in Odesa. After the start of the full-scale war, he and his mother moved to Lviv, but in the summer of 2022, he decided to return briefly to his hometown to check on the family house in Novooleksiivka, Kherson region. It was there that he was detained by Russian security forces.

For three months, his family knew nothing about his whereabouts until they learned that Appaz was being held in a detention center in occupied Simferopol.

“Appaz’s story—like those of hundreds of other Ukrainians unjustly imprisoned in Russia—must continue to be heard. Standing for Appaz means standing for justice, dignity, and the right of every person to live free,” emphasized Kajsa Ollongren in her post.

Earlier, Franziska Davies also became a mentor to Appaz Kurtamet within the advocacy mentorship initiative.

Read more here: https://cutt.ly/9r6iSvjo