Nariman Dzhelial

imprisoned for

Nariman Dzhelial was born on April 27, 1980 in Uzbekistan, in the city of Navoi. Family moved to Dzhankoy, Crimea when he was four. In 2005, he graduated from the Odesa National University with a degree in political science. He worked as a presenter at the ATR TV channel, correspondent for the Republican newspaper Avdet and taught history and law at the Simferopol International School. Married, he and his wife Leviza have four children. In the fall of 2013, after Refat Chubarov was elected as the head of the Mejlis, Dzhelial became one of his deputies, heading the informational and analytical department. For the past several years Dzhelial remained the most highly ranked member of the Mejlis in Crimea and the de facto leader of the organization, informing the world media about the situation of the Crimean Tatar people under the conditions of the temporary occupation.

His phone was working for 24 hours a day. Night, early morning, or day - it did not matter. At work... Just arrived, or on the way home - got a call, he could break away and go. He is that kind of person. And when he came home, seeing him, even if his eyes were tired, but they were so happy that he did... helped someone, supported someone. Seeing the result, what he did, how can I stop him? He got wings from what he was doing," says Leviza Dzhelial.

By the end of August 2021 Nariman was a participant of the international summit The Crimean Platform. Almost immediately after his return home, he was detained: on September 3-4, the Russian security forces conducted a series of searches in Crimea. Dzhelial and four other Crimean Tatars were taken to an undisclosed location. Next day, it became known that the FSB staff held Nariman in handcuffs with a bag on his head, applied psychological pressure and treated him particularly harshly. Later, the Russian Federal Security Service released a statement that Dzhelial was suspected of involvement in an explosion at the gas pipeline, which occurred on August 23, 2021, in the village of Perevalnoye near Simferopol. Article 281 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Part 1 ("Diversion"), carries a sentence of 12 to 15 years imprisonment.