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In October, Tofik Abdulgaziev told his relatives that he was rapidly losing his sight, reports ‘Crimean Solidarity.’

“He can’t see the plate he is supposed to eat from. To dial a number on the phone, he asks for help because he ends up pressing against the wall with his finger. Tofik can’t read or write replies to the letters he receives from the jamaat,” his wife said.

Now, the convicted man has undergone a CT scan at Tuberculosis Hospital No. 3 under the Federal Penitentiary Service in Chelyabinsk, a large industrial city in the Urals. After the examination, the head doctor told him that a tumour had been found in Abdulgaziev’s brain. He has been referred to a neurosurgeon to determine whether it is malignant or benign.

Abdulgaziev has been hospitalised since March 2024. He was transferred there from prison in serious condition and was initially placed in intensive care. Relatives reported that he was emaciated, periodically lost the use of his legs, and had hallucinations.

At first he was diagnosed with disseminated pulmonary tuberculosis affecting the mediastinal lymph nodes. Then doctors identified several more conditions: bilateral pneumonia, mild left-sided hydrothorax, anaemia, connective tissue dysplasia syndrome affecting the mitral valve, chronic heart failure, gastritis, and kidney stones.

After he was transferred to hospital, Abdulgaziev tried to secure early release on health grounds. Last summer, the court denied his request.

In February 2025, his condition worsened. He suffered more frequent coughing fits and had a prolonged fever. Meanwhile, he was held in a damp and cold solitary confinement cell (SHIZO).

  • Abdulgaziev has been in detention since March 2019. He was arrested on charges of involvement with the Islamic party Hizb ut-Tahrir, which Russia has designated as terrorist. In Ukraine, this party does not have such a status, and its members were not prosecuted before the occupation of the peninsula.
  • In May 2022, a court sentenced Abdulgaziev to 12 years’ imprisonment. The first five years are to be served in prison, and the remainder in a high-security colony.