The following is based on a communication written by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts to the Government of Russia on 23 October 2024. The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. Regrettably, the Government did not reply within this timeframe. If a reply is received it will be posted on the UN Special Procedures communications database.
Since the communication was sent, Mr. Tofik Abdulhaziiev has remained in detention. He is still in hospital, and serious concerns about his health persist.
This is a shorter version of the original communication.
BACKGROUND
Topic: the searches conducted at Mr. Tofik Abdulhaziiev’s and his mother’s homes, his arrest and conviction – reportedly linked to his legitimate human rights work and Crimean Tatar identity – his ongoing detention far from his family despite serious health conditions that should allegedly warrant his release, and the alleged poor conditions of his detention.
Mr. Tofik Abdulhaziiev is a Crimean Tatar human rights defender and an activist with Crimean Solidarity as well as the Crimean Childhood project. He organized events for the children of political prisoners, delivered food to detainees, attended trials, and came to support other people during searches of their homes.
ALLEGATIONS
On 4 May 2017, officers from the Russian Center for Combating Extremism, a division of the Ministry of the Interior, searched Mr. Abdulhaziiev’s home in Simferopol. This search was reportedly conducted as a less formal “inspection of residential premises.” It is alleged that no court order was obtained and no search-related documentation was provided. Mr. Abdulhaziiev was then allegedly taken to the Center for Combating Extremism for a “talk” but released a couple of hours later.
On 27 March 2019, officers from Russia’s Federal Security Service searched Mr. Abdulhaziiev’s home in Simferopol and his mother’s home on the outskirts of Simferopol, where he was reportedly registered. The former search was allegedly without a warrant and the latter search was pre-authorized by court. During the search at his mother’s home, authorities seized a tablet, phones, and two Islamic books that were banned in Russia, which allegedly had been planted. After the searches, Mr. Abdulhaziiev was arrested for alleged involvement with Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamic group banned in Russia as a terrorist organization but legal in Ukraine. It is unclear whether a warrant had been issued for his arrest.
His arrest and prosecution were part of a larger criminal case involving over 20 Crimean Tatars arrested around the same time, many of whom were activists from the same human rights group, allegedly targeted for their human rights work and Crimean Tatar identity. They were all allegedly flown to Rostov-on-Don in Russia, about 700 km away from Simferopol, immediately after their arrest.
On 12 May 2022, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don convicted Mr. Abdulhaziiev on allegedly fabricated charges of participating in a terrorist organization (part 2 of article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code) and preparing a violent seizure of power (part 1 of article 30, article 278). He was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment. In May 2023, the Military Appeals Court in Vlasikha upheld the verdict after reviewing the defense’s appeal. In August 2024, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation rejected the cassation appeal.
In July 2023, Mr. Abdulhaziiev was transferred to a prison in the town of Verkhneuralsk, in the Chelyabinsk region of the Russian Federation, 2 700 kilometers from his home. After the transfer, he lost a significant amount of weight and complained of severe joint pain.
In March 2024, Mr. Abdulhaziiev’s health rapidly declined, and he was taken in critical condition to the Specialized Tuberculosis Hospital No. 3 of the Main Directorate of the Federal Penitentiary Service in the Chelyabinsk Region. He was reportedly placed in a punishment cell, and only after he lost consciousness two weeks later, he was transferred to the intensive care unit.
He was later diagnosed with several diseases some of which are listed as grounds for release, in accordance with article 175 of the Criminal Executive Code of the Russian Federation, under the “List of diseases that prevent serving the sentence,” approved by the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 54 of 6 February 2004 (as amended and supplemented).
In April 2024, his defense petitioned the Metallurgicheskiy District Court of Chelyabinsk to order the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia to release him, citing the diagnosis as grounds for his release. On 6 August 2024, the court rejected the petition and ruled to keep Mr. Abdulhaziiev imprisoned. The court allegedly based its decision on a report from the prison commission, stating that Mr. Abdulhaziiev could serve his sentence under prison and strict regime conditions. The independent specialist’s opinion provided by the defense was allegedly rejected.
Mr. Abdulhaziiev’s health has deteriorated significantly during detention, worsened by the conditions. According to the information received, although he remains in the hospital, his cell is in a basement, with no hot water, he often cannot eat the food provided, as it contains pork, and for at least three days after intensive care he was not given any food at all.
CONCERNS
In the communication, we express our deep concern about Mr. Abdulhaziiev’s ongoing detention despite serious health conditions that should allegedly warrant his release, as well as the fact that he is being held far from his family under reportedly poor detention conditions. We are also alarmed by reports of the searches of his and his mother’s homes, as well as concerns that he was targeted for these searches, his arrest, and subsequent conviction due to his legitimate human rights work and his Crimean Tatar identity. We express our grave concern over the continued intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders in Crimea and remain concerned about the chilling effect this may have on individuals seeking to engage in human rights activism in Crimea, discouraging them from exercising their rights.
In connection to national legislation which gave rise to charges against Mr. Abdulhaziiev, we wish to refer the Russian Government to concerns raised by the United Nations human rights mechanisms with regards to the vague definition of terrorism in the Federal Law No. 35-FZ “On Countering Terrorism” of 6 March 2006, and about a lack of clarity with regards to the crime of public justification of terrorism under the provisions of article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of Russia and the application of those provisions to allegedly target political opponents, journalists, and persons who criticize the Government, as well as reports of incommunicado detention, torture and ill-treatment of members of groups classified as terrorist organizations. The provisions have broad and vague definitions that may allow arbitrary application and restrict freedom of expression and opinion in the Russian Federation. These concerns were the subject of scrutiny in the recent report submitted by the Special Rapporteur on the situation with human rights in the Russian Federation to the Human Rights Council (see A/HRC/57/59, paras. 71-74). The number of convictions on terrorism-related charges has increased 50-fold in the past decade, with no acquittals. The range of crimes considered to be terrorism has been expanded and penalties increased.
