Crimean Tatar Edem Smailov, serving a 13-year sentence in Correctional Colony No. 1 in Kostroma, has been unable to receive adequate medical care for almost a year. Since his transfer to the colony in January 2025, his request for a dental consultation has remained unanswered.
Crimean Tatar journalist Amet Suleimanov, sentenced to 12 years, reported a deterioration in his health. He continues to suffer from high blood pressure, dental problems, and rashes on his body in the Vladimir Central prison.
In 2024, courts in Vladimir refused to release Amet Suleimanov, despite the fact that his illnesses are on the list of those incompatible with prison conditions. He also did not undergo the necessary heart valve replacement surgery.
In 2019, the Southern District Military Court, despite numerous statements from the defense about Suleimanov's health, sentenced him to 12 years in a maximum security penal colony for his participation in the Islamic party Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in the Russian Federation. His lawyer Lilia Gemedzhi believes the sentence is fatal: "They sentenced him to die. “Prisoning a person with such a diagnosis is cynical.”