Crimean Tatar political prisoner reported failure to provide medical care and insults based on ethnicity

In the Yelets prison in the Lipetsk region, Crimean Tatar Seitveli Seitabdiev, sentenced to 14 years, is not receiving medical care. For more than a month he has not been able to get an appointment with a surgeon or ophthalmologist. He is also bothered by severe itching of the scalp, pain in the back and elbows.

In addition, according to the Crimean Tatar political prisoner, law enforcement officers who come to the prison for investigative activities can make statements based on interethnic and religious hostility. In addition to this, fungus has appeared in Seitabdiev’s cell, the walls are damp, and it gets cold at night.

In March 2023, Seitvel Seytabliev was sentenced to 14 years in prison. He was found guilty under articles of participation in the activities of a terrorist organization (Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code) and preparation for the seizure of power (Article 278 of the Criminal Code). These articles are charged for participation in the Islamic party Hizb ut-Tahrir, banned in the Russian Federation. Its members are sentenced to long terms on the grounds that they met in apartments and read religious literature.

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