Stop Killing Ilmi Umerov:

Activitists will gather on Maidan demanding from the Russian Federation to stop Ilmi Umerov’s tortures in Crimea

 

Date: August 26^th

Time: 16:00

Place: Kyiv, Maidan Nezalezhnosti / Independence Square

 

On August 26^th we ask everyone who cares to come to Maidan Nezalezhnosti to support the deputy chairman of the Mejlis - Ilmi Umerov, criminally persecuted in Crimea, and all Crimean prisoners who are subjected to be tortured by the Russian Federation.

While you read these lines, in the psychiatric hospital in Simferopol, a person who should not and is not supposed to be there, can die. His name is Ilmi Umerov, he is mentally healthy and he turned up to be in the arms of psychiatrists because of his belief that Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, is the part of Ukraine.

Ilmi Umerov is a dissident and member of the Crimean-Tatar national movement. When Russian soldiers with no identification signs captured Crimea in 2014, Ilmi Umerov in a protest resigned from his position as a head of Bakhchisaray district (Crimea, Ukraine), which he was holding for 9 years.

Now he is 59 years old, is ill with Parkinson's disease, has hypertension (high blood pressure) and diabetes. Due to his condition, Ilmi couldn’t take any physical participation in any protests against the new Russian governance. But over the past two years, he openly expressed his position - wrote posts on his Facebook page and gave comments to the journalists. 

While being interviewed by the Ukrainian mass media, Ilmi Umerov was accused of public appeals and actions aimed at changing the territorial integrity of Russia. It is important to mention that he has never invoked any violent actions. 

On August 11^th Umerov was taken directly from the courtroom to the cardiology department of the city hospital with a suspected heart attack. On August 18^th he was transferred to the psychiatric hospital for a compulsory psychiatric examination. There he remains till this day. On the 21^st of August, Umerov’s relatives announced news about the serious deterioration of his health. This is caused by improper food diet in the hospital and lack of proper medical care.

We understand that many people would like to join the discussion and organization aspects of this action. But Ilmi Umerov’s health condition does not allow us wait any longer and requires immediate actions.

This is why, this Friday, on August 26^th, we ask everyone who cares to come to Maidan Nezalezhnosti to support Ilmi Umerov and say to the RF’s face: Stop Killing Ilmi Umerov. We demand the immediate release of Ilmi Umerov, providing him with the required medical assistance and termination of the criminal prosecution.

Russian Federation’s actions represent politics against not only Umerov, but also hundreds of thousands of people who disagree with the occupation.