13 March 2026

The Face of Resistance: The Story of Crimean Tatar Activist Eskender Suleimanov

Life before the detention
Eskender Suleimanov was born on August 3, 1973, in Uzbekistan. In 1993, he and his family returned to Crimea, where he worked as an electrician on a collective farm. A year later, he was drafted for 1.5 years of mandatory military service.

Since 2012, Eskender had worked as a technical engineer for the Ardinvest cable network. Prior to his arrest, he was a dedicated supporter of his community, frequently attending court hearings and organizing aid for Crimean political prisoners held in pre-trial detention centers.

Persecution
On June 10, 2019, Russian security forces raided the Suleimanov family home in the village of Strohanivka, Simferopol district. Eskender was detained alongside his younger brother, Ruslan. They were subsequently charged in the so-called Case of Crimean Muslims for alleged membership in Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamic political party that Russia has designated a terrorist organization.

In 2022, Eskender Suleimanov was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment. Under the terms of the sentence, he must spend the first five years in a prison (the strictest form of confinement) and the remainder of his term in a high-security penal colony. The court also imposed an additional year of restricted freedom following his eventual release.

Behind the Bars
Eskender’s health has severely declined during his time in captivity. He suffers from several chronic conditions, including a duodenal ulcer, chronic foot fungus, and eczema.

Throughout the proceedings, Eskender refused to plead guilty to any of the charges. In his final statement to the court, he declared that while he held no illusions regarding the occupational “court’s” verdict, he remained hopeful and refused to fall into despair. Eskender Suleimanov continues to serve his illegal sentence in a detention facility within the Russian Federation.