Lenur Khalilov is a political prisoner

A Crimean Tatar from Kherson Oblast in Ukraine has been sentenced to 3.5 years in a strict-regime penal colony on a charge of involvement in the Noman Çelebicihan volunteer battalion

The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Lenur Khalilov a political prisoner. He has been convicted on a charge of ‘participation in an illegal armed group’ for alleged involvement in the Noman Çelebicihan Crimean Tatar volunteer battalion because of his nationality and ethnic origin. Khalilov’s prosecution and conviction violate his right to fair trial. We demand the immediate release of Lenur Khalilov and that all criminal charges against him be dropped.

What were the charges against Lenur Khalilov?

On 3 May 2023, mass searches took place in the village of Rykovo in the Russian-occupied part of Kherson Oblast of Ukraine during which three Crimean Tatars were detained. One of them was 52-year-old ambulance driver Lenur Khalilov.

Officially the prosecutor’s request for Khalilov to be remanded in custody arrived in court only three weeks later, on 25 May, when he was charged with ‘participation in an illegal armed group on the territory of a foreign state’ (Article 208, Part 2, of the Russian Criminal Code).

According to the prosecution, in 2016 Lenur Khalilov joined the Noman Çelebicihan Crimean Tatar battalion. As a member of this battalion, Khalilov allegedly participated in the blockade of Crimea by Ukraine.

On 16 November 2023, a court in Russian-occupied Henichesk sentenced Khalilov to three and a half years in a strict-regime penal colony, with the first year to be served in a cell-type prison.

Why do we consider Khalilov a political prisoner?

The conviction of Lenur Khalilov was based almost entirely on his confession and the words of two ‘witnesses’ who both described themselves as former members of the battalion. One witness had already repeatedly testified in similar cases against Crimean Tatars. He ‘recognised’ Khalilov, whom he allegedly saw in 2016, from a photograph. The other witness is a fellow villager of Khalilov who had been included along with him in the Russian Register of Extremists and Terrorists and, it can be assumed, was facing a similar charge to that brought against Khalilov. The veracity of testimony by the defendant and by two witnesses dependent on the investigative authorities must be doubted.

Lenur Khalilov’s involvement in the battalion has not been proven. Moreover, participation in this association did not constitute an offence.

The creation of the battalion was announced by the businessman Lenur Islyamov in September 2015. At the same time, the leaders of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people declared a civil blockade of Crimea. Members of the battalion inspected vehicles crossing the ‘border’ with Crimea. Over the next two months, the Ukrainian government banned the supply of goods and services from and to Crimea, except for humanitarian goods. From January 2016, members of the battalion, or rather the Asker association that was created on its basis, carried out joint patrols with the Ukrainian Border Service. The battalion never took part in military operations.

While the creation of the Çelebicihan battalion was not enshrined in law, its activities cannot be considered illegal. The joint border patrols with Ukrainian security forces are proof of this. At the same time, Russia’s interests are clearly contradicted, not by the battalion’s activities, but by Russia’s illegal seizure of Ukrainian territory.

A detailed description of Lenur Khalilov’s case and of our position is available on our website.

Recognition of an individual as a political prisoner does not imply the ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project agrees with, or approves, their views, statements, or actions.

How can you help?

You can write to Lenur Khalilov at the following address:

In Russian: 663180, Красноярский край, Енисейск, ул. Декабристов, 11, ФКУ Т-2, Халилову Ленуру Аблямитовичу, 1971 г. р

In English: Lenur Ablyamitovich Khalilov (born 1971), Prison No. 2, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Krasnoyarsk Krai, 11 Dekabristov Street, Yeniseysk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, 663180, Russia.

You can send an email via Zonatelecom (for payment with Russian cards), PrisonMail (for other cards), or OVD-Info (free of charge).

Please note that letters in languages other than Russian are highly unlikely to reach the recipient.

You can donate to support all political prisoners in Russia.