28 November 2025
The Face of Resistance: The Story of Crimean Tatar Activist Vadym Bektemirov
Life before the detention
Vadym Zaidinovych Bektemirov was born on 7 July 1981 in the city of Kurgan-Tyube, Uzbekistan, into the family of a carpenter. In 1990, the Bektemirov family returned to Crimea. There, he completed secondary school and lyceum education and developed an interest in religion.
In 2000, Vadym Bektemirov left to study at Al Jinan University in Lebanon. Upon graduation, he obtained a master’s degree in Islamic Studies and then returned to Crimea.
On the peninsula, Bektemirov worked as a translator for various agencies. After the occupation, he conducted Muslim prayers in support of the families of political prisoners and organized the delivery of parcels to arrested Crimean Tatars.
Persecution
In 2020, security forces of the occupation administration carried out another wave of mass searches in the homes of Crimean Tatars in the Alushta, Bakhchysarai, Simferopol, and Krasnohvardiiske districts. On that day, seven men were detained: Emil Ziyadinov, Ismet Ibrahimov, Alim Sufyanov, Seiran Khayretdinov, Oleksandr Sizikov, Vadym Bektemirov, and Zekirya Muratov.
They were charged in the so-called “Crimean Muslims case,” in particular with alleged involvement in the Islamic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir, which Russia designates as a terrorist organization.
Later in 2020, the political prisoner was placed in the Crimean Clinical Psychiatric Hospital for a compulsory forensic psychiatric examination. After that, he was held in a pre-trial detention center.
Meanwhile, Bektemirov’s lawyer filed an appeal, arguing for the activist’s innocence. However, the court dismissed the appeal and, on 11 February 2022, sentenced him to 11 years in a high-security penal colony.
Behind the bars
After his detention, Bektemirov was transferred several times to different penal colonies across Russia. While being held in pre-trial detention, he reported health problems, in particular with his stomach and teeth.
In 2023, Vadym Bektemirov was transferred from a prison in the city of Yelets, Lipetsk region, to Penal Colony No. 6 in Saint Petersburg.
In 2024, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation once again dismissed the political prisoner’s cassation appeal, leaving him in Russian custody.
Since the occupation of the peninsula in 2014, Russia has regularly detained Ukrainian citizens and Crimean Tatars on politically motivated charges. In total, during the period of occupation, the Russian Federation has sentenced at least 224 people in politically motivated cases, more than 133 of whom are Crimean Tatars.
The Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea condemns Russia’s illegal persecutions and repressions and demands the release of all unlawfully detained political prisoners.