Aziz Azizov, a Crimean Tatar freelance journalist, has been detained by Russian authorities controlling Ukraine’s Crimea since March 2024 on charges of terrorism and “preparation for a violent seizure of power.” If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison under the terrorism charge and up to 20 years in jail under the other charge as well.
Azizov has been reporting for Crimean Solidarity since 2019, livestreaming detentions and home raids on Crimean Tatars and covering trials, a representative of Crimean Solidarity, a human rights group that reports on politically motivated cases in Crimea, told CPJ.
On March 5, 2024, officers with Russia’s Federal Security Service detained Azizov along with Rustem Osmanov, another freelance journalist with Crimean Solidarity, in the southern Crimean town of Bakhchysarai and searched their homes.
The same day, the Kyiv District Court of Simferopol, Crimea’s capital, ordered the two journalists to be detained for two months.
Azizov and Osmanov were accused of involvement with the Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir, according to local human rights organizations. Russia has designated Hizb ut-Tahrir as a terrorist organization and has prosecuted dozens of Crimean Tatars for alleged membership in the group, which operates legally in Ukraine. Azizov was charged with participating in Hizb ut-Tahrir, while Osmanov was charged with organizing group activities, the Crimean Solidarity representative told CPJ. If convicted, Azizov faces up to 20 years in jail under Article 205.5, Part 1 of Russia’s criminal code. They were both additionally charged with “preparation for a violent seizure of power,” which carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years under Article 278.
Their detention has been extended multiple times, most recently on October 21, for another six months. Azizov and Osmanov were transferred from a pretrial detention center in Simferopol to a pretrial detention center in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don in November. During their first court hearing on November 25, both men denied the charges. The next hearing is scheduled for December 16.
Since Russian authorities cracked down on the independent media in Crimea after they occupied and annexed Crimea in 2014, many Crimean Tatars have been persecuted for their civic journalism, which often focuses on the rights of the predominantly Muslim indigenous ethnic group.
In late 2024, the Crimean Solidarity representative told CPJ that Azizov had not reported health problems, but said that the detention was “psychologically difficult” for him.
In late 2024, CPJ emailed the Crimean branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee for comment but did not receive any reply.