Rustem Osmanov, a Crimean Tatar freelance journalist, has been detained by Russian authorities controlling Ukraine’s Crimea since March 5, 2024, on charges of terrorism and “preparation for a violent seizure of power.”
Osmanov, a former journalist with the independent Crimean broadcaster ATR, has been working for Crimean Solidarity, a human rights group that reports on political cases in Crimea, since 2016, a Crimean Solidarity representative told CPJ.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) officers searched the homes and detained Osmanov on the same day as another Crimean Solidarity freelance journalist, Aziz Azizov, after officers searched their homes in Ukraine’s southern Crimea town of Bakhchysarai. Osmanov produced reports on searches and trials of Crimean Tatars, prepared video reports about the families of political prisoners, and edited videos editing for Crimean Solidarity.
Osmanov and Azizov were accused of involvement with the Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which Russia has designated as a terrorist organization and has prosecuted dozens of Crimean Tatars for alleged membership of the group, which operates legally in Ukraine. Osmanov was charged with organizing Hizb ut-Tahrir activities, while Azizov was charged with participating in the group, the Crimean Solidarity representative told CPJ. If convicted, Osmanov faces life imprisonment under Article 205.5, Part 1 of Russia’s criminal code. Both were also 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. Osmanov and Azizov were transferred from a pretrial detention center in Simferopol, Crimea’s capital, 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 reporting on abuse of the rights of their Muslim-minority group.
In late 2024, the Crimean Solidarity representative told CPJ that Osmanov had not reported health problems besides occasional headaches.
CPJ did not receive a reply to its late 2024 email to the Crimean branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee asking for comment on Osmanov.