“The brightest memories I recall are our first meeting and our wedding. Our whole life together contains vivid memories. My husband tried to make every day a holiday. He is very kind, sociable, and always ready to help. He is a person who is liked by everyone”, says Aliie Karimova, the wife of Crimean Solidarity activist Alim Karimov, a political prisoner.
Alim Karimov was born on April 8, 1994, a resident of Simferopol. He is married and has a child. He was sending packages for political prisoners when he was detained by Russian security forces on March 27, 2019.
“No one was allowed to attend a search, it was impossible to call a lawyer because our phones were taken away. During the searches, two banned religious books were planted in our home,” the wife of the political prisoner recalls of that day. “It was another blow to find out that my husband's brother had also been taken away. I was in shock.”
Aliie Karimova says that after the search and detention, Alim did not eat for three days. “It was only during the pre-trial detention trial that he was able to get some water and a sandwich,” explains the political prisoner's wife.
Alim was first transferred to a pre-trial detention center in Shakhty, Rostov Oblast (Russia), and later to a pre-trial detention center in Rostov-on-Don. Now Karimov is in the Simferopol pre-trial detention center as the investigation proceeds.
“We are all holding on. Alim is like a son to my father, they could talk for hours. In the evening, after the search and detention of Alim, I arrived at my parents' house, where the whole family met me with tears in their eyes,” Aliie Karimova recalls. “Our faith does not allow us to give up. And neither do the people who constantly come and help us. These are a very diverse group of folks and even strangers, they are all so kind and open.”
Aliie says that letters from her husband are also great support for her. “In his letters, he says that he is having a hard time being separated from his family. But he also always supports us, convinces us that everything is fine and soon everything will change. He often asks about our son: when my husband was taken away, our child was only three months old. My husband asked when our son started walking or what was the first word he said,” says Karimova.
“Innocent people should not be imprisoned. Especially those like our men…These are such kind and sensitive people who always come to the rescue. Slowly, each letter and each petition renders assistance. It doesn't happen right away, but gradually more and more people are paying attention to it,” Aliie Karimova concludes.
