Server Rustemovych Mustafayev (Ukrainian: Сервер Рустемович Мустафаєв, born 5 May 1986) is a Crimean Tatar human rights defender and coordinator of the civil rights organization Crimean Solidarity.
Server Mustafayev | |
|---|---|
Сервер Мустафаєв | |
| Born | May 5, 1986 |
| Nationality | Crimean Tatar |
| Occupation | human rights worker |
Life
editMustafayev was born on May 5, 1986, in Ziadin. His family returned to Crimea where he lived in Bakhchysarai. In 2014 Mustafayev began to actively help families of political prisoners and became one of the coordinators of the civil rights organization Crimean Solidarity, whose activities are aimed at providing legal assistance to the families of political prisoners of Crimea.[1]
On May 21, 2018, officers of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation conducted a search in the house of Server Mustafayev in Bakhchisarai and took him to Simferopol.[2]
He was charged with Part 2 of Art. 205.5 (“Participation in the activity of a terrorist organization”, up to 20 years in prison), part 1 of Art. 30 and Art. 278 of the Criminal Code ("Preparation for violent seizure of power", up to 10 years in prison).[3]
Mustafayev's lawyer said that the only evidence against him was an audio recording with several short replies, including a question posed by Server Mustafayev during a meeting in a mosque on December 2, 2016. Mustafayev wanted to know if a person could be liked "in general", but at the same time arouse hatred for a certain act and developed an idea. This meeting was announced in advance. Despite this investigation, it was concluded that Mustafayev participated in a secret meeting of the Islamist organization "Hizb ut-Tahrir."[2]
In March 2020, the Ukrainian government made a statement protesting his treatment, saying he was showing symptoms of COVID-19, but being denied proper treatment.[4]
On September 16, 2020, Mustafayev was sentenced by a Russian military court to fourteen years in a strict regime penal colony.[5]
Reaction
editThe Russian civil rights society Memorial has included Server Mustafayev in the "Support program for political prisoners".[3]
Amnesty International and the international organization Front Line Defenders demand Mustafayev's immediate release.[2][6] According to Human Rights Watch the sentenced prison terms against Mustafayev and six other Crimean Tatars are part of a pattern of politically motivated prosecutions that have been happening since the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.[7]
In June 2018 the European Parliament adopted a resolution in which it demands Russian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release illegally detained Ukrainian citizens including Server Mustafayev.[8]
The United States Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe declared its concern about the health conditions of Crimean Tatar political prisoners, including Server Mustafayev and called for his release.[9]
On December 10, 2022 Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the Center for Civil Liberties, mentioned Server Mustafayev in the Nobel Lecture given at the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony: "The international system of peace and security does not work anymore. Crimean Tatar Server Mustafayev as well as many others are put in Russian prisons because of their human rights work".[10]
Awards
editOn August 21, 2020, Mustafayev was awarded by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky with the Order of Merit.[11]
References
edit- ^ "Мустафаев Сервер". Crimean Solidarity. 2018-09-26. Archived from the original on 2020-03-02. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
- ^ a b c "Потребуйте освободить Сервера Мустафаева: крымский правозащитник переведён в Ростов-на-Дону" [Demand the release of Mustafayev Server: Crimean human rights activist transferred to Rostov-on-Don]. Amnesty International (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2020-02-22. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
- ^ a b "Мустафаев Сервер Рустемович" [Mustafaev Server Rustemovich]. Memorial (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2020-03-02. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
- ^ "Kyiv demands Russia treat political Ukrainian prisoner Mustafayev who has COVID-19 symptoms". Interfax-Ukraine. 2020-03-23. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
- ^ "RUSSIA/UKRAINE: FURTHER INFORMATION: CRIMEAN TATAR RIGHTS DEFENDER SENTENCED: SERVER MUSTAFAYEV". Amnesty International. 2020-12-11. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
- ^ Arrest of Server Mustafayev
- ^ "Russian Repression a Persistent Reality in Crimea". Human Rights Watch. 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
- ^ "European Parliament resolution on Russia, notable the case of Ukrainian political prisoner Oleg Sentsov". European Parliament.
- ^ On Russia’s Ongoing Aggression against Ukraine and Illegal Occupation of Crimea
- ^ "The Nobel Lecture given by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2022 Center for Civil Liberties [EN]" (PDF). Nobel Prize. 2022-10-12.
- ^ "Указ президента України №335/2020". Офіційне інтернет-представництво Президента України (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2020-08-25.