14 July 2025
Crimean Political Prisoner Teimur Abdullaiev Reunites with Daughter After Nine Years of Separation
Taekwondo coach and instructor Teimur Abdullaiev reunited with his daughter Asma after nearly nine years of unlawful imprisonment in Penal Colony No. 2 in Salavat, Bashkortostan, Russian Federation. He is not allowed to make calls using the Zonatelecom prison communication system, so his only way to stay in touch with his family is through letters.
Teimur Abdullaiev is a father of five. His youngest daughter was just three months old when Russian forces imprisoned her father. As she prepared to meet him, the girl asked her mother Alime what her father looked like:
“She traveled to meet him because she only knew him from what her older brothers had told her. The whole way there, she kept asking what her father looked like — how tall he was, what his build was like. When I asked, ‘Why are you asking?’ she said, ‘I’m afraid I won’t recognize him.’ When Teimur entered the room, the first thing he said was: ‘Asma, you came, qizim (my daughter in Crimean Tatar)?’ He lifted her into his arms and held her tightly to his chest. She burst into tears, her eyes filling more and more with emotion. She couldn’t speak — just kept swallowing the lump in her throat. Resting her head on her father’s broad chest, she didn’t let go of him for a long time,” shared Alime Abdullaeva.
His wife also shared that immediately upon arrival at Correctional Colony No. 2 in Salavat, Teimur was placed in a punishment cell, where he has been held almost continuously. In total, he has spent 1,009 days in solitary confinement. After each 24-hour period in SHIZO, the prison administration transfers Teimur to a high-security cell with harsh detention conditions.
These inhumane conditions have inevitably taken a toll on his health: Teimur now suffers from high blood pressure, deteriorating eyesight, and kidney problems.
Previously, the mother of political prisoners Teimur and Uzeir, Dilyara Abdullaieva, emphasized that Teimur is being held in a two-meter SHIZO cell with cold walls and a single stool. The bed in the cell is lifted up against the wall at 5 a.m. and lowered only at 10 p.m., forcing him to spend the entire day standing or sitting, which has severely worsened his condition. She also noted that Teimur developed a kidney infection from lying on the cold floor and now suffers from unbearable pain.
“My youngest son has no health left due to constant confinement in cold basements and punishment pits. He is the only one who has not spent a single day in the residential quarters of the colony — the only one!” Dilyara Abdullaieva stressed on Facebook.
On 12 October 2016, during mass searches in the village of Strohonivka, Simferopol district, the occupation administration arrested Teimur and his brother Uzeir. On 18 June 2019, a court in Rostov-on-Don unlawfully sentenced Teimur Abdullaiev to 17 years in a maximum-security penal colony, with an additional restriction of liberty for 1 year and 6 months. Uzeir Abdullaiev was sentenced to 12.5 years in a colony. Both were falsely accused of “terrorism.”
The unlawful imprisonment of Teimur and Uzeir Abdullaiev is one of hundreds of cases illustrating systemic violations of human rights and freedoms in the temporarily occupied territory. Their cases highlight the use of selective justice and punitive measures against Ukrainian citizens based on ethnic origin, religious beliefs, and civic stance. In this context, sustained international support remains essential to uphold international humanitarian law and secure the release of all individuals imprisoned for political reasons.