The Crimean Tatar political prisoner Asan Yanikov is being denied communication with his family while in custody.

Convicted to 15 years, the Crimean political prisoner Asan Yanikov is unable to communicate with his family. Since his transfer to the Vladimir Central prison, Russian prison authorities have not allowed the Ukrainian citizen to make phone calls or receive most of his letters.

His sister Fatima Yanikova shared this information with the public organization “Crimean Solidarity”.

The Crimean Tatar activist has repeatedly tried to arrange a meeting with the prison chief, Viktor Kostin, to discuss his complaints. However, as Yanikova reported, her brother's requests do not reach the chief, and Asan is not permitted to meet with Kostin. Since October of last year, Yanikov has only been able to call his family twice.

Additionally, according to Yanikova, after her brother was beaten by two guards in April of this year, his bread rations were reduced by two to three times. As a result, the political prisoner has started to lose weight rapidly. Currently, after a visit from a lawyer, the situation with bread and food has “improved,” but what exactly has changed is unknown to the sister of the Kremlin prisoner, as her brother has not informed her.

At the same time, Asan recently received a package from relatives, which had been opened. Furthermore, the political prisoner has chronic gastrointestinal issues, but they are not currently troubling him. He is in a cell with one cellmate, and the quality of water and food is satisfactory.

“Asan looks good, as always, just has lost some weight. Neat, clean, and with the same fighting spirit,” noted Fatima Yanikova.

Asan Yanikov is an activist who, prior to his arrest, attended trials for politically motivated cases in Crimea. In 2017, he participated in a solo picket protesting against persecution on national and religious grounds. Yanikov was involved in sending packages to political prisoners in pre-trial detention centers.

It is known that the Islamic political party “Hizb ut-Tahrir” was declared a terrorist organization by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on February 14, 2003, during a closed court session. This religious organization operates legally in Ukraine, particularly in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Russia, contrary to international humanitarian law, applies its criminal legislation in Crimea.

Human rights activists believe that the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation made its decision without justification, violating transparency and equality of the parties, as only the prosecution side, namely the FSB, participated in the closed process. Representatives of the organization were not able to present their position in the case.

Meanwhile, in most countries around the world, the organization operates without restrictions under national legislation. In Ukraine, the party's activities are not banned, and the organization's activists have produced a newspaper, could openly speak in the media, and hold large public events.

In February 2014, Russia launched an unlawful military operation to seize the Crimean Peninsula.

On March 27, 2019, Russian security forces conducted mass searches in the homes of Crimean Tatar activists in temporarily occupied Crimea, including representatives of the public organization “Crimean Solidarity.”

At that time, more than 20 Crimean Tatar activists were detained. They were accused of involvement with the Islamic political party “Hizb ut-Tahrir.”

On March 18, 2023, a court in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, sentenced five activists of the public organization “Crimean Solidarity.” Crimean Tatar activists Akim Bekirov, Seitveli Seitabdiyev, and Rustem Seithalilov received 14 years in prison, while Eskender Suleimanov and Asan Yanikov received 15 years in a penal colony in the case of Crimean Muslims.

Earlier, the Crimean Human Rights Group called on Crimeans to send documents and other evidence confirming the commission of crimes in occupied Crimea.

Recently, ZMINA reported that an electronic service “You are in Ukraine” has been launched for Ukrainians living in temporarily occupied territories: it includes safety and resistance instructions and provides access to a quality VPN and secure browser.