A new case has been opened against a Crimean Tatar with a brain tumor. He has been seeking release for two years

A new case has been opened against a Crimean Tatar with a brain tumor. He has been seeking release for two years

A criminal case for contempt of court has been opened against 44-year-old Tofik Abdulgaziev.

▶️ What is known about the new case

On April 17, the Metallurgichesky Court of Chelyabinsk was supposed to consider a lawsuit seeking his release due to his illnesses, but the judge recused herself. She filed a complaint against the Crimean man, and the Investigative Committee opened a case the same day.

According to the defense lawyer, at the previous hearing Abdulgaziev “expressed his position in harsh terms.” What exactly he said is unknown.

The Crimean man’s wife said that at that hearing the judge removed him on the grounds of “improper behavior toward the judicial panel.”

▶️ A medical board before the hearing

Abdulgaziev’s wife explains his reaction by saying that on the eve of the hearing he was deceived by a board of doctors at the prison hospital and learned about it only in court.

The doctors were supposed to issue a conclusion on his state of health. According to Abdulgaziev, he was forced to sign documents without being shown their contents. Because of serious vision problems, he could not read them.

“Only in court did he learn what was in them. As it turned out, the document stated that, according to the conclusion of the prison hospital doctors, Tofik Abdulgaziev was completely healthy and had no objections or complaints regarding being transferred back from the hospital to the penal colony. Date and signature of the convicted person,” his wife said.

▶️ Health problems

Abdulgaziev began losing his sight in October 2025; later he started fainting and developed coordination problems. In December, doctors found a malignant tumor in his brain. He needs surgery.

Back in March 2024, the Crimean man was transferred to a prison hospital in serious condition. Relatives reported that he was emaciated, his legs were failing, and he was having hallucinations. At the hospital, he was diagnosed with several illnesses, including:

• a severe form of tuberculosis;

• anemia;

• chronic heart failure;

• gastritis;

• kidney stones.

The man has already tried to secure release because of his health condition, but the court refused.

▶️ The persecution of Tofik Abdulgaziev

The Crimean man has four children. Before his arrest, he was an activist with Crimean Solidarity, attended trials in cases against other Crimean Tatars persecuted for political reasons, sent them parcels, and organized events for the children of political prisoners.

Abdulgaziev himself was detained in spring 2019. He was arrested on charges of involvement in the Islamic party Hizb ut-Tahrir, which Russia has recognized as terrorist. In Ukraine, the party does not have that status, and before the occupation of the peninsula its members were not persecuted.

In May 2022, a court sentenced the Crimean man to 12 years in prison. He was to serve the first five years in prison and the remaining term in a high-security penal colony.

Abdulgaziev’s case is not an isolated one. Many Crimean Tatars who have faced political persecution do not receive the medical care they need while in detention.

🔗 We reported on how such treatment leads to disability and, in some cases, the deaths of political prisoners.

🛟 Subscribe to OVD-Info. We explain what to do if you or your loved ones face pressure from the authorities.

Tofik Abdulgaziev / Photo: Crimean Solidarity