28 January 2025
Crimean Tatar Journalist Seiran Saliiev Has Been Held in a Punishment Cell for More Than Two Months
Crimean Tatar activist and citizen journalist Seiran Saliiev, who was unlawfully sentenced by a Russian court in 2020 to 16 years of imprisonment, has been continuously held in a punishment cell at Penal Colony No. 4 in Tula region since November 20, 2024. His wife, Mumine Saliieva, reported this on her social media platforms.
The family only learned about Seiran’s placement in the punishment cell a month and a half after the fact. The colony’s disciplinary commission declared Saliiev a “persistent violator of established regulations.” However, the specific reasons for this designation were never communicated to his family.
“At first, he was given 15 days. When this period expired, they extended it by another 10 days. Then, instead of returning him to strict detention conditions, they added another 15 days. After this term, it was extended again,” explained Mumine Saliieva.
This is not the first instance of persecution against Seiran Saliiev. In July 2024, he was transferred to strict detention conditions, where he remained for at least four months. The basis for this transfer was 22 disciplinary sanctions issued between October 2022 and February 2024. However, Saliiev claims these sanctions were baseless, emphasizing that he had not even received verbal warnings from the colony administration.
In September 2024, the colony administration also placed Seiran Saliiev in a punishment cell without providing any formal explanation.
“They deliberately sent him to solitary confinement without any warnings or explanations. This is a fabricated case, and even formal reasons for such actions were not provided to us,” stressed Mumine Saliieva.
Seiran Saliiev is a philologist of Turkish and Crimean Tatar languages, a tour guide, and a citizen journalist of the Crimean Solidarity. On October 11, 2017, he was detained in Bakhchysarai alongside five other Crimean Tatars: Timur Ibrahimov, Marlen Asanov, Memet Bielialov, Server Zekiriaiev, and Ernes Ametov. In May 2018, Edem Smailov and Server Mustafaiev were also implicated in the same case. The detainees were unlawfully accused of involvement in the activities of the organization Hizb ut-Tahrir. In September 2020, a court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Seiran Saliiev to 16 years of imprisonment; later, an appellate court reduced the term to 15 years.
The occupation administration in Crimea systematically persecutes Ukrainian citizens on ethnic and religious grounds, particularly targeting Crimean Tatars and Muslims. These repressions have become widespread, including illegal arrests, detentions, and searches of homes, religious institutions, and public organizations. Crimean Tatars are frequently and unjustly accused of “terrorism” and “extremism,” which often involves gross violations of fundamental human rights, including torture and denial of fair trial rights.
We call on the international community to take decisive actions to end the repressions on the occupied peninsula. It is crucial to increase sanctions pressure on Russia, implement measures to protect the rights of Crimeans and secure the release of all unlawfully detained political prisoners.