Crimean Tatar activist Mustafayev, illegally imprisoned in Russia, receives international human rights award

Crimean Tatar and Kremlin political prisoner Server Mustafayev has received an award from Freedom House, an international human rights organisation. Mustafayev was previously illegally sentenced in Russia to 14 years in prison.

Source: Freedom House website 

Details: The Freedom Award website announced that Mustafayev would receive the prize for his contribution to human rights and democracy.

Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, received the Alfred Moses Liberty Award on behalf of Server Mustafayev.

Quote from Markarova: "It was a great honour for me to receive this award on his behalf and to remind everyone about Server and all our other hostages and Ukrainians illegally detained by Russia [...]

This recognition is an important reminder of the struggle of Ukraine and the Crimean Tatar people against the brutal repression by the Russian Federation. The Kremlin's crimes against the Crimean Tatars and the genocidal war against Ukraine are a continuation of the unpunished hateful policy of the evil empire, the deportations of 1944 and all other crimes against Ukrainians."

Details: Freedom House is an international human rights organisation founded in 1941 to unite politicians in the fight against Nazi Germany.

The organisation's mission is to promote and defend freedom around the world and to support democracy, particularly activists and human rights defenders who fight for these values.

Every year, Freedom House honours individuals and groups for their significant contributions to the advancement of human rights and democracy. Previous recipients include the spiritual leader of Tibet, the 14th Dalai Lama, former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.

For reference: Server Mustafayev is a Crimean Tatar who reported on human rights violations under Russian occupation as coordinator of the Crimean Solidarity association of relatives of political prisoners, lawyers and activists.

He also spoke out in defence of victims of political repression.

In May 2018, the Russians arrested Mustafayev on charges of supposedly participating in the Hizb ut Tahrir organisation, which is banned in Russia. Its representatives say their mission is to unite all Muslim countries in an Islamic caliphate. Meanwhile, members of the organisation reject terrorist methods and claim to be persecuted in Russia and occupied Crimea.

Later, Mustafayev and other detainees in the case were illegally transferred to the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. He repeatedly complained about violations of his rights in a Russian pre-trial detention centre, in particular saying that he was denied medical care when he was ill, starved and restricted from taking walks in the fresh air.

In September 2020, they were sentenced for alleged participation in terrorist activities. Server Mustafayev received 14 years in prison.

At the time, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the Russian court's decision unlawful and expressed its strong protest.

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