Arsen Ablaev is a political prisoner
A Ukrainian citizen has been sentenced to four years and five months in a strict regime penal colony on a charge of participating in the Noman Çelebicihan Battalion
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international criteria, considers Arsen Ablaev a political prisoner. Ablaev was convicted on a charge of ‘participation in an armed group on the territory of a foreign state for purposes contrary to the interests of Russia’ for alleged involvement in the Crimean Tatar Noman Çelebicihan Battalion. Ablaev’s criminal prosecution and conviction violated his right to a fair trial. We demand the immediate release of Arsen Ablaev and that all criminal charges against him be dropped.
What were the charges against Arsen Ablaev?
Arsen Ablaev, a resident of Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, was detained in Simferopol on 25 February 2023 and jailed for 10 days on an administrative-law charge of disobeying a police officer. After the jail term expired, he was charged with participation in an illegal armed group for purposes contrary to the interests of Russia (Article 208, Part 2, of the Russian Criminal Code).
According to the investigative authorities, in January 2016 Ablaev decided to join an ‘illegal armed group’ – the Noman Çelebicihan Battalion – that was located on the administrative border between Crimea and mainland Ukraine. The authorities alleged that Ablaev was provided with weapons and actively participated in the Battalion’s activities. Since Ablaev did not notify the Russian authorities when leaving the Battalion, they maintained that he remained a member even after leaving its location in the autumn of 2017.
The main evidence in the case consists of Ablaev’s own confessions and testimony from other Battalion members who had previously been convicted for participation in the Battalion.
On 26 September 2023, Ablaev was sentenced to four years and five months’ imprisonment, of which the first year was to be served in a cell-type prison and the remainder in a strict regime penal colony.
Why do we consider Arsen Ablaev a political prisoner?
Participation in the Noman Çelebicihan Battalion does not constitute a criminal offence. The association was formed in September 2015 after the leaders of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People announced a civil blockade of Crimea. The Battalion did not participate in combat and was, in fact, not an armed formation but a civic association.
Furthermore, the Noman Çelebicihan Battalion cannot be considered an illegal formation because it engaged in joint border patrols with the Ukrainian Border Service; moreover, the Battalion’s legal status is a domestic matter for the Ukrainian authorities. The activities of the Crimean Tatar association do not contradict the interests of Russia: what contradicts Russia’s interests is the illegal seizure by Russia of Ukrainian territory.
Ablaev’s conviction, as in many similar cases, relied on the testimony of witnesses who are used on a regular basis by the investigative authorities and are not independent of them. In our view, these uniform testimonies cannot serve as reliable evidence of wrongdoing.
The case of Arsen Ablaev, like other prosecutions related to the Noman Çelebicihan Battalion, is part of a repressive campaign against Crimean Tatars, persecuted on ethnic grounds as real or perceived opponents of the annexation of Crimea.
A detailed description of Arsen Ablaev’s case and of our position is available on our website.
Recognition of an individual as a political prisoner does not imply the project, ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial,’ agrees with, or approves, their views, statements, or actions.
How can you help?
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