Crimean Tatar activist Tofig Abdulgaziev faces ‘contempt of court’ charge after hearing on release on health grounds
A new criminal case has been opened against Tofig Abdulgaziev, a terminally ill Crimean Tatar activist, following a court hearing intended to consider his release on compassionate grounds. Already serving a 12-year sentence, Tofig Abdulgaziev now faces further charges of ‘contempt of court’, according to the human rights group Crimean Solidarity.
On 17 April, the judge presiding over the medical release hearing recused herself and filed a criminal complaint against the defendant. Crimean Solidarity reported that the move followed a previous session in which Tofig Abdulgaziev ‘expressed his position in a sharp manner’. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation initiated the new proceedings that same day.
The activist’s wife, Aliye Kurtametova, provided context for her husband’s conduct, revealing the psychological pressure he had faced prior to appearing in court. She stated that Tofig Abdulgaziev had been forcibly removed from a hearing on 27 February for ‘inappropriate behaviour towards the panel’. The day before that hearing, he was allegedly taken to a consultation with prison doctors in the presence of Federal Security Service (FSB) officers.
‘Without carrying out any examination, the head of the medical unit at STB-3, Olga Angold, handed Tofig documents and indicated where he should sign,’ Aliye Kurtametova said. Because his eyesight has failed to the point where he is unable to read, Tofig Abdulgaziev requested that the text be read aloud. The request was refused. ‘Sign it, you’ll find out later,’ he was reportedly told. After resisting what he described as ‘moral pressure’ from prison staff, and pushed to his breaking point, he signed the papers ‘to end this farce’.
It later emerged that the document was a declaration stating he was ‘completely healthy’ and had no objection to being transferred from the prison hospital back to the colony. This, Aliye Kurtametova said, explained his emotional conduct in court.
Tofig Abdulgaziev’s medical records tell a different story. In December 2025, he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour following a catastrophic loss of vision; his peripheral sight has disappeared entirely, and his central vision remains blurred. That same month, he suffered frequent bouts of unconsciousness and was unable to move far from his bed. By January, he was suffering from severe dizziness and nosebleeds, with his blood sugar reaching 11 mmol/L. Two days prior, he had reported a loss of coordination and difficulty walking. By mid-March, Aliye Kurtametova reported his blood sugar had soared to 26.
Since March 2024, Tofig Abdulgaziev has been held at Prison Hospital No. 3 in Chelyabinsk, where he was initially admitted to intensive care in a critical state. After being moved to a high-dependency ward, Aliye Kurtametova noted that her husband had lost nearly 40 kilograms in detention and that his speech had become incoherent. In April 2024, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, bilateral pneumonia, and fluid in the lungs, alongside chronic conditions affecting his heart and kidneys.
A resident of Simferopol and an activist with Crimean Solidarity, Tofig Abdulgaziev was detained in 2019. In 2022, he was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment on charges of participating in a terrorist organisation and conspiring to seize power — charges frequently levelled against Crimean Tatar activists since the 2014 annexation.
