02 May 2025
The Face of Resistance: The Story of Crimean Tatar Activist Lenur Seidametov
Life before the detention
Lenur Liumanovych Seidametov was born on June 11, 1986, in the city of Bulungur, Samarkand Region, Uzbekistan. He received a secondary education, completing eight years of schooling, and later studied for three years at a college specializing in radio electronics and television equipment.
In 2012, Lenur returned to Crimea — the land of his ancestors who had been deported by the Soviet totalitarian regime in 1944 — without his family. There, he married and started a family. His first son, Abdullah, was born in 2013, followed by his daughter Ayat in 2016, and his son Ali-Imran in 2019. Lenur worked as a market vendor, construction worker, dental technician, and since 2020, as a loader. He took an active interest in the civic life of the Crimean Tatar community, assisted with public events, and supported the families of political prisoners.
Persecution
On February 17, 2021, the occupying state carried out another round of mass searches in Bilohirsk, Bakhchysarai, Simferopol, Sevastopol, and the Feodosiia district of Crimea. On that day, Lenur Seidametov was detained, along with Tymur Yalkabov, Azamat Eiupov, Yashar Shykhametov, Ernest Ibrahimov, and Oleh Fedorov. After their detention, they were taken to the FSB office in Crimea for so-called “investigative actions” and later transferred to a pre-trial detention center.
Like many other Crimean Tatars unlawfully persecuted in Crimea, they were charged with fabricated accusations under the so-called “Crimean Muslims case,” allegedly for preparing to violently seize power.
Behind the bars
On March 22, 2022, a court in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, sentenced Lenur Seidametov to 13 years in a high-security penal colony.
Immediately after the verdict, he was unlawfully transferred to Penal Colony No. 2 in Yelets, Lipetsk Region, Russian Federation. During his illegal detention, Lenur began to suffer from serious health issues. In 2023, he was diagnosed with a Baker’s cyst in his knee joint and required spinal surgery. In November 2023, after waiting a month and a half for hospitalization, he finally underwent surgery to remove the cyst from his spine. The delay — caused by the colony administration’s obstruction and refusal to provide timely medical care — became a severe ordeal.
In addition, Lenur suffers from intense pain in his legs and back, while the prison administration continues to deny him proper medical treatment.
After completing the term of his prison sentence, Lenur Seidametov was expected to be transferred to a penal colony. However, at the end of April 2025, he was moved to Pre-Trial Detention Center No. 1 in Voronezh. According to his wife, the occupying administration is planning to extradite him to Uzbekistan.