Date of arrest: 12.10.2019
Charges: participation in the activities of an organization recognized as terrorist in the territory of the Russian Federation. The case of Khizb ut-Takhrir
Court verdict: up to 13 years in a maximum-security prison
Waiting for him: wife, four children
"We met when there were no cell phones or Internet yet in existence. I was a student. And we did not actually manage to meet for a while: once I was late for a date, the other time I had to cancel as I had a class at the designated time. After we got married, Uzeir told me that before the third date he said to himself: ‘If she doesn't come this time, it is not meant to be.’ I was late again, but he waited for me. From that moment on, our story began,” said Fera, the wife of Crimean political prisoner Uzeir Abdullaiev.
Uzeir Abdullaiev was born on April 30, 1974. Having a talent for music, athletic achievements and legal education, Uzeir chose a career as an oriental martial arts coach.
Uzeir was detained on October 12, 2016, in a family house in the village of Strogonivka near Simferopol. The search is said to have lasted from 6 am to 2 pm.
On this day, Uzeir`s and other Crimean Tatars` detention at the Simferopol pre-trial detention centre began, and lasted for almost two years. "At one of the pre-trial detention hearings, Uzeir and other prisoners of the ‘Simferopol`s Five’ reported torture,” Fera recalls.
Fera remembers her husband's testimony well: "They were on the way to the FSB for investigation when Uzeir was shoved under the bus seat, and all members of the special forces transporting them, began kicking and beating him, shouting insults attacking his honor, dignity, and religious faith.”
Abdullaieva states that in early 2018 in the Simferopol pre-trial detention center, Uzeir had suffered a serious illness that he acquired in custody, due to the unsatisfactory conditions of the detention centre: dampness, bedbugs, cockroaches. His condition required immediate medical intervention and he was taken to Simferopol City Hospital #6. "Uzeir underwent urgent surgery on his arm; a purulent lump of an unknown nature was removed. Despite the surgeon insisting on at least three days of hospitalization and postsurgical treatment, Uzeir was immediately taken back to the pre-trial detention center in a semi-conscious state, with a fever and a wound on his arm. After a while, a similar lump appeared on his leg. But all possible authorities my lawyer and I have called on for help have subsequently ignored the necessity to examine him, ” Fera explained.
On June 18, 2019, the North Caucasus District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don found members of the "first Simferopol group" guilty of the crimes they were accused of. Uzeir was sentenced to 13 years in a maximum security prison. From the beginning of 2020, Uzeir has been serving his term in the correctional facility #16 in Salavat, Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia.
