Crimean political prisoner Ruslan Mesutov has been transferred to Yakutia, located nine thousand kilometers away from his homeland.

A former member of the religious community "Alushta," 59-year-old Ruslan Mesutov, sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment, has been transferred to correctional colony No. 1 in Yakutia – a distance of over nine thousand kilometers from Crimea, where he lived prior to his arrest and where his family remains.

This information was reported by “Crimean Solidarity,” citing his sister, Lilya Mesutova.

The transfer of the political prisoner lasted two months, and upon arrival at the colony, he was placed in a punishment cell (SHIZO).

According to his sister, when Ruslan was taken from the Yelts prison in the Lipetsk region, he was unaware of his exact destination. Only during transit to Novorossiysk was he able to inform in a letter that he was being taken to Yakutia.

Upon his arrival at the colony, all personal belongings were confiscated from Mesutov, including his Quran and glasses. Lilya Mesutova mentioned that her brother was robbed just before the transfer, so during the journey to Yakutia, he received assistance from compassionate fellow inmates at transit points.

While the man is in SHIZO, he is not allowed to use the store, have visits, or make phone calls. The Muslim can only write letters.

His sister clarified that he has not written about his health condition. He requested a therapist to be called to him, but there has been no information about a doctor's visit. According to Mesutova, during their last meeting in Yelts, she learned that her brother suffers from hypertension: his blood pressure was recorded over 200, sometimes reaching 250 over 150.

“We brought him very strong medications from Crimea that were prescribed in the prison medical unit… In prison, they also prescribed a belt for his back, but it was confiscated in the colony as well,” said Lilya.

The last letter from Ruslan that she received was more than a month ago.

Ruslan Mesutov was one of the founders of the Muslim religious community in Alushta and worked as a guard at the mosque. He was involved in community activities, organized Muslim holidays, assisted with burials, and conducted prayers.

Russian security forces detained him on June 10, 2019, along with other Crimean Tatars, Ruslan Nagayev and Eldar Kantimirov, in the occupied village of Malyy Mayak, and in the village of Izobilnoye – Lenur Khalilov, the head of the local religious community “Alushta.”

Occupational investigators charged Mesutov with violating part 1 of article 205.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Organization of activities of a terrorist organization”), which provides for imprisonment of 15 to 20 years, as well as parts 1 of article 30 and article 278 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Preparation for a violent seizure of power by an organized group in collusion”), which carries a sentence of up to ten years in prison.

Mesutov was arrested two weeks before the court hearing, where a lawsuit from “Alushta” against the illegal “Council of Ministers” represented by the unlawful “Ministry of Property of the Republic of Crimea” was to be considered.

The religious community initiated the lawsuit because the occupying authorities transferred the city mosque to the illegal formation “Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Crimea,” unlawfully revoking the Council of Ministers' order from 1994.

On August 16, 2021, the Southern District Military Court sentenced the participants of the Alushta group “Hizb ut-Tahrir.” Nagayev, Kantimirov, Mesutov, and Khalilov were sentenced to 13, 12, and 18 years of imprisonment, respectively, in a strict regime colony on charges of terrorism.

Later, the Military Appeal Court in Vlasikha, Moscow region, did not satisfy the appeals of the defenders in the case of the Alushta group “Hizb ut-Tahrir” and upheld the sentence.

Earlier, ZMINA reported that political prisoner Teymur Abdullayev, despite worsening health issues, had his term in SHIZO of correctional colony No. 2 extended again, located in Salavat, Republic of Bashkortostan (Russia).