Defender of political prisoners Rustem Kyamilev left a special detention center after administrative arrest
On November 17, lawyer and human rights activist Rustem Kyamilev left a special detention center in annexed Simferopol. This was reported on the Facebook page of the public movement "Crimean Solidarity", where he works.
"Of course, I would like to thank everyone. All those who supported me at that moment, conveyed this support. All caring people who, despite their busy schedules, having no free time, came to court, I saw these people. All those who, while at large, supported my family," Kyamilev said.
It is reported that on the day of the end of the arrest term, more than 400 people gathered at Rustem's home: relatives of political prisoners, activists, friends and neighbors.
On the morning of November 7, employees of the so-called occupation "Center E" arrived at the home of lawyers Lili Gemedzhi and Rustem Kyamilev in Crimea, accompanied by riot police officers - about fifteen people in total. This center is a Russian repressive structure responsible for the persecution of suspects in "extremism".
Gemedzhi and Kyamilev are well-known human rights activists in Crimea, specializing in the cases of Crimean Tatars, who began to be subjected to mass repression after the annexation of the peninsula by Russia.
Having burst into the house, the security forces threw Kyamilev to the floor, twisted his arms behind his back, and handcuffed him.
"I woke up from the fact that my grandmother [dad] was put on the floor. I woke up from screams: "Lie down on the floor! Quickly, I told you - lie down on the floor!" - the lawyers' daughter Niyara shared with the editorial board of "Grata".
The "Eshniks" searched the house, seized equipment and documents used in legal activities. It is noteworthy that the search was classified as "inspection of premises" and was conducted with the permission of the Russian-controlled Kyiv District Court in Simferopol. Kyamilev was taken to the building of the "Crimean Center for Combating Extremism" in Simferopol, where two administrative protocols were drawn up against him.
The first protocol concerned the repost of material allegedly containing an image of the red and black flag of the Ukrainian nationalist organization "Right Sector". For this, the human rights activist was arrested for ten days.
Under the second protocol, Kyamilev was fined 50,000 rubles - for reposting a recording of a press conference made back in 2017 calling for an end to Russia's participation in the civil war in Syria, which was regarded as discrediting the Russian army.
According to Irina Sedova, an expert with the Crimean Human Rights Group, such actions by Russian security forces are part of the systematic pressure on Crimean Solidarity and its employees. She noted that permission for an “examination” is easier to obtain than for a full-fledged search, since it does not require an open criminal case.
