24 July 2026

The Face of Resistance: The Story of Political Prisoner Ametkhan Abdulvapov 

Life before the detention

Abdulvapov Ametkhan was born on 23 February 1989. He is a Crimean Tatar and a mechanical engineer by profession. Prior to his arrest, he lived in Simferopol with his wife and their two children. After the occupation of Crimea, Ametkhan actively supported his community by attending court hearings of other detained Crimean Tatars in Crimea and participating in public religious celebrations in his hometown of Bile.

Persecution

On 9 February 2022, Russian security forces simultaneously carried out mass searches of the homes of Crimean Tatars in several districts of the temporarily occupied Crimea. Following these raids, Ametkhan Abdulvapov was unlawfully detained. Three other Crimean Tatar activists were arrested during the same operation.

The occupation administration of the Russian Federation illegally accused Ametkhan Abdulvapov of involvement in the activities of the Islamic political organization Hizb ut-Tahrir. The occupation administration also charged him with «participation in a terrorist organization». The trial of Ametkhan Abdulvapov lasted for approximately one year. The only «evidence» presented against him consisted of audio recordings of private gatherings at his home where religious and political issues were discussed.

On 15 March 2023, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Ametkhan Abdulvapov to 10 years and 6 months of imprisonment in a high-security penal colony. In November 2023, the appellate court upheld the sentence. In his final statement before the court, Ametkhan declared: «I am not involved in terrorism. Let me return to my family, to my children.»

Behind the bars

Following his conviction, Ametkhan Abdulvapov was transferred to the Russian Federation. He is currently serving his unlawful sentence at Penal Colony No. 2 in Angarsk, Irkutsk Region, where he has repeatedly been placed in a punishment cell.

In 2025, his health deteriorated significantly, and he suffered a stroke while in detention. His father, Nedzhyp Abdulvapov, stated that his son had previously had no heart-related health problems. The family has formally appealed to the Russian investigative authorities, requesting an investigation into the alleged severe beating and torture of their son.