Crimean Tatar political prisoner was unable to participate in the trial due to health conditions

Citizen journalist Rustem Sheykhaliev, sentenced to 14 years, was unable to participate in the hearing to consider the appeal against his sentence via video conferencing from pre-trial detention center No. 3 in Novocherkassk. He suffered severe nosebleeds twice.

The first time the Crimean Tatar political prisoner bled in a cell of a pre-trial detention center, the second time - in the cell from where he and other defendants convicted in his case were supposed to participate in the hearing.

According to lawyer Lily Gemedzhi, three days before the hearing, Rustem suffered from headaches. He took painkillers, but they did not help. The prisoner also complained about the lack of medical care. He suspects he has heart failure, and the administration of the detention center, according to him, does not respond to requests for an electrocardiogram.

In 2022, Sheikhaliev was sentenced to 14 years on charges of terrorist activities and attempting to seize power. He pleaded not guilty and considers his prosecution political, as he criticized the authorities of the Russian Federation and Crimea after the annexation of the peninsula to Russia.

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