A Crimean Tatar activist sentenced to 18 years has been transferred to a penal colony in Karelia, north-western Russia.

Mehmet Belyalov, a Crimean Tatar activist sentenced to 18 years in prison, has been transferred to Penal Colony No. 9 in Petrozavodsk. This was reported by Crimean Solidarity, citing his mother, Zekiye Belyalova.

On 11 July, he was removed from Penal Colony No. 9 in the village of Parfino, Novgorod region (in north-western Russia), which authorities decided to close. At the end of the same month, the activist told his family he was being held in Detention Centre No. 1 in Veliky Novgorod, a city in north-western Russia.

Recently, Belyalov’s family received a letter from him saying that he was now in Penal Colony No. 9 in Petrozavodsk, where he is being held in a strict-regime barrack. He is not allowed to make phone calls.

‘He says: “Mum, I’ve sent you several letters. You’re not replying.” And I say: “I haven’t received a single letter from you,”’ said Zekiye Belyalova.

While in Penal Colony No. 9 in Novgorod region, Belyalov was repeatedly sent to a punishment cell. For example, in 2023, he was placed in solitary confinement for seven days because he did not manage to change into a long-sleeved shirt before the guards entered his cell.

Belyalov and five other Crimean Tatars were detained in Bakhchysarai, Crimea, in October 2017 after searches were carried out at the homes of several families. The men were remanded in custody as part of a case concerning alleged involvement with the Islamic party Hizb ut-Tahrir. Belyalov was accused of participating in the activities of a terrorist organisation (Part 2, Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code). In September 2020, a court sentenced him to 18 years in a strict regime colony. In spring 2023, the activist reported that he had lost 15 kilograms in custody and was suffering from pain in his teeth and joints.

Before his arrest, Belyalov worked in a shop selling and servicing mobile phones. He was also an activist with Crimean Solidarity.

• The Russian authorities have designated Hizb ut-Tahrir as a terrorist organisation and banned its activities. The SOVA Research Centre (SOVA) and the project “Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial” consider this decision to be unlawful. Hizb ut-Tahrir members have not been found to have planned or carried out attacks or acts of terror; prosecution of its members in Russia is based solely on the fact that they held meetings and read religious literature.