Crimean Tatar journalist transferred from Siberian prison to the Far East
Citizen journalist Rustem Sheykhaliyev was transferred from the Yeniseisk prison in Krasnoyarsk Krai to Blagoveshchensk in Amur Oblast. In February, the political prisoner was placed in the tuberculosis hospital of the Main Directorate of the Federal Penitentiary Service for Krasnoyarsk Krai. This happened after his legs turned blue and began to hurt and swell even more.
Earlier, Sheykhaliyev repeatedly complained to the prison doctor about leg pain and varicose veins, but the doctor said that he had “nothing serious.” The prisoner also reported headaches and chest pains.
In 2022, Rustem Sheykhaliyev was sentenced to 14 years on charges of terrorist activity and an attempt to seize power. He did not plead guilty and considers his prosecution politically motivated, since he criticized the authorities of the Russian Federation and Crimea after the peninsula was annexed by Russia. According to lawyer Lili Gemedzhi, the secret witnesses in the case, who testified under pseudonyms, were not acquainted with the defendant. The defense tried to prove the unfoundedness of the charges brought against them.
