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Yashar Shikhametov, a defendant in the Crimean “Hizb ut-Tahrir” case, has lost 30 kilograms while in detention. In addition, he can barely walk due to severe joint pain. This was reported by “Crimean Solidarity,” citing his wife.
He was brought to a meeting with his lawyer in a wheelchair. In Penal Colony No. 37 in Kemerovo Region, Siberia, where he is currently serving his sentence, he has been excused from working. He has been allowed an additional two-hour daytime rest and has been given slippers, as he is unable to wear other shoes. Meals from the canteen are brought to Shikhametov in his unit.
“When I walk or sit, I experience severe pain. So I almost do not walk. If I walk, it is with crutches. It takes me two and a half hours to cover a distance of 50 metres. After walking, everything hurts badly, and I have to take painkillers. Because of a stomach ulcer, the medicine causes my stomach to hurt,” the man is quoted by “Crimean Solidarity.” He also explains: “The discs between my vertebrae are worn down, and my joints have second or third degree degeneration: hip, knee and ankles. I have high blood pressure, heart pain, possible diabetes, headaches, my ears hurt, I can’t hear well out of my right ear, my vision is deteriorating, and I am short of breath.”
In April, Shikhametov was transferred to a prison hospital in Saratov Region. According to him, the doctors planned to prepare documents to recognise him as disabled, but did not manage to finish before he was transferred back to the colony in June. While in the Saratov hospital, he was also found to have an enlarged liver and kidney stones.
- Yashar Shikhametov was detained in February 2021 after searches in several areas of Crimea. In September 2022, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison under the article on participating in the activities of a terrorist organisation (Part 2, Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code) for “Hizb ut-Tahrir.” Law enforcement claim that, while working as a cook in a café, Shikhametov carried out “ideological work,” participating in banned meetings and recruiting new supporters. Police also claimed he supposedly “carried out ideological propaganda in a whisper,” which made it difficult to record his words on audio. He served part of his sentence in Balashov Prison (Saratov Region, on the Volga River).
- During his appeal hearing in December 2023, Shikhametov became unwell and was carried out of the courtroom on a stretcher, as he could barely walk due to serious back problems. For the cassation hearing in autumn 2024, he was brought in on a gurney.