Long sentences upheld for five Crimean Tatar political prisoners

The military appeal court in Vlasikha (Moscow region) upheld the sentence against the Crimean Tatars. Enver Ametov, Osman Arifmemetov, Ruslan Suleymanov, Rustem Sheykhaliev and Yashar Muedinov were sentenced to 13 and 14 years in a maximum security colony.

According to lawyer Lily Gemedzhi, the classified witnesses in the case, who spoke under pseudonyms, did not know the defendants. The defense tried to prove the charges against the activists were unfounded.

“We are accused of thought crime in the context of the general fight against dissent in Russia. And the judicial system has turned into an instrument for the destruction of alternative opinions, thoughts different from the position of the authorities,” Osman Arifmemetov said in court.

Yashar Muedinov called for an end to repression in Crimea. “After darkness still comes light. We all walk under the Lord God,” the activist concluded.

In 2022, Crimean Tatars were sentenced to 14 years on charges of terrorist activities and attempting to seize power. They pleaded not guilty and consider their prosecution political, as they criticized the authorities of the Russian Federation and Crimea after the annexation of the peninsula to Russia.

Последние новости
Friend of missing Chechen woman detained in Grozny after picket
Human rights
Friend of missing Chechen woman detained in Grozny after picket
23 August 2026

Elena Patyaeva—a friend of Seda Suleymanova, who disappeared three years ago after being forcibly returned from St. Petersburg to Chechnya—was detained in Grozny. On August 23, Patyaeva stood by the monument to journalists who died for freedom of speech, holding a sign that read: "I demand an investigation into the murder of Seda Suleymanova." This was reported by the human rights project "Slovo Zashchite" (Word for the Defense).

Azerbaijani Ambassador Says Russian Media Hinders Closer Ties Between Baku and Moscow
Politics
Azerbaijani Ambassador Says Russian Media Hinders Closer Ties Between Baku and Moscow
23 August 2026

Azerbaijan intends to continue developing relations with Russia, despite the deteriorating media narrative surrounding Baku in Russian outlets. Rahman Mustafayev, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Russia, stated this in an interview with RTVI.

Falling debris from Ukrainian UAVs sparks fires in southern Russia
Politics
Falling debris from Ukrainian UAVs sparks fires in southern Russia
23 August 2026

Wildfires broke out in the Rostov and Krasnodar regions due to falling drone debris. In the Rostov region, the railway overhead power line was also damaged, while in the Kuban region, three people—including two children—were killed in an attack the previous day.

Case over children’s poisoning in Dagestan reaches court
Society
Case over children’s poisoning in Dagestan reaches court
22 August 2026

In Dagestan’s Karabudakhkent District, a criminal case against the head of the private Chudo kindergarten in the village of Paraul, where 10 children suffered carbon monoxide poisoning in February, has been sent to court, the republic’s prosecutor’s office said.
The woman is accused of providing services that failed to meet safety requirements for consumers’ lives and health. The case will be heard by the Karabudakhkent District Court.