09 May 2025
The Face of Resistance: The Story of Crimean Tatar Activist Timur Yalkabov
Life before the detention
Timur Muminovych Yalkabov was born on September 7, 1980, in the city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, into a family of Crimean Tatars who had been deported from Crimea by the Soviet totalitarian regime in 1944. Like many members of his people, he grew up far from his homeland, preserving his national identity and the memory of Crimea.
Timur completed secondary education and studied at a vocational school specializing as a locksmith-mechanic. In 2000, after the death of his mother, he went to Moscow for work, where he was employed as a locksmith in the housing and utilities sector.
In 2008, Timur returned to Crimea — the land of his ancestors. There, he worked in construction, hanging wallpaper and laying tiles. He later met his future wife, Aliye, helped her sell vegetables and fruits at the market, and performed hard physical labor.
Timur took an active interest in the civic life of the Crimean Tatar community, assisted families of political prisoners, and supported initiatives aimed at protecting the rights of his compatriots.
Persecution
On February 17, 2021, at 4:00 a.m., the occupying state carried out mass searches in Bilohirsk, Bakhchysarai, Simferopol, Sevastopol, and the Feodosia district of Crimea. That day, along with Timur Yalkabov, activists Lenur Seidametov, Azamat Eyupov, Yashar Shykhametov, Ernest Ibragimov, and Oleh Fedorov were also detained. After their detention, they were taken to the FSB office of the Russian Federation 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 Timur Yalkabov to 17 years in a high-security penal colony.
On December 20, 2022, Timur was transferred from the city of Novocherkassk to Dimitrovgrad in Ulyanovsk Oblast.
On February 9, 2023, he was placed in a punishment cell, where he remained for nearly three months — until May 5. Later, in the same colony, his head was forcibly shaved.
On April 28, 2025, Timur Yalkabov was unlawfully transferred again — from Pre-Trial Detention Center No. 1 in Dimitrovgrad to a penal colony in Murmansk, located more than 3,500 kilometers from Crimea.
The political prisoner suffers from chronic bronchial asthma. The colony administration long refused to provide inhalers until he had an acute asthma attack. He has also begun to suffer from joint and knee pain due to the harsh detention conditions and lack of proper medical care. Additionally, he has lost 25 kilograms during his imprisonment.