Activist Aziz Akhtemov, sentenced to 13 years in prison, complained of pain in his eyes. He can barely read. His back and knees also hurt, making it difficult for him to sit for more than 15 minutes.

“It’s very difficult to get an examination, but Asan tries, writes statements, and when the opportunity arises, talks to the doctor about his health problems. And this opportunity happens very, very rarely,” the activist’s wife said.

He is in penal colony No. 5 in the Arkhangelsk region.

In 2022, brothers Asan and Aziz Akhtemov, as well as the first deputy head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Nariman Dzhelal, were sentenced to 13-17 years in a maximum security penal colony. The investigation believes that they participated in the explosion of a gas pipeline in the village of Perevalnoye in Crimea on the orders of the Ukrainian special services.

The defendants stated that after their arrest they were tortured with electric shocks, demanding confessions from them. They did not admit their guilt.

The lawyers said that at the appeal stage the court closed the trial to the audience, and the principles of openness and transparency were effectively ignored. During the interrogation of a secret witness, the court reminded him that he could refuse to answer certain questions from the lawyers. In addition, the defense was denied the opportunity to re-conduct several expert examinations.