The Memorial Human Rights Center recognized Eduard Asanov, a citizen of the Russian Federation and Ukraine, a Crimean Tatar, as a political prisoner. In July 2024, he was sentenced to 8 years and 6 months in prison on charges of participating in an illegal armed group.
According to investigators, in 2016, Asanov joined the Noman Chelebidzhikhan battalion on the border of Crimea with Ukraine. The man did not admit guilt, claiming that he only occasionally visited the battalion's location on personal business.
Human rights activists believe that Asanov's case is politically motivated, since the Chelebidzhikhan battalion, as they claim, was not an armed group and did not participate in hostilities. In addition, the unit's activities did not contradict the interests of Russia, since it operated on the territory of Ukraine. According to Memorial, the criminal case is based on the testimony of "serial" witnesses, and the only material evidence is a Ukrainian Armed Forces chevron, which has nothing to do with the charges.
"We believe that participation in the Noman Chelebidzhikhan Battalion does not constitute a crime. This association appeared in September 2015 after the leaders of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people declared a civil blockade of Crimea. The battalion did not participate in military actions and was not an armed formation, but a public association," Memorial emphasized.
