Crimean citizen journalist Ernes Ametov loses 10 kg in Russian prison

Citizen journalist Ernes Ametov has lost 10 kg in Russian prison, reports the civil society initiative Crimean Solidarity, citing his wife Eleonora Ametova.

According to her, Ernes Ametov needs vitamins to maintain his good health, but the prison administration did not allow him to receive either vitamins or medicine. Representatives of the institution say that the prisoner must first be examined by a doctor who will prescribe the necessary medication.

Ernes Ametov / Photo by Crimean Solidarity

Ametov goes to the prison gym to maintain his health. He also learned sewing and received a third-class degree.

“He tries to sew a lot to get a higher salary and ease the financial burden on us, and also to have money for the commissary, since the food in the prison goes against Islam laws. [Because of this] he eats little to nothing,” said Eleonora Ametova.

Who is Ernes Ametov

Citizen journalist Ernes Ametov was arrested on October 11, 2017 together with Seyran Saliev, Marlen Asanov, Timur Ibrahimov, Server Zekiryaev and Memet Belyalov after mass searches in Crimea. The men were charged with involvement with the Islamic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is outlawed in Russia.

He spent the three years of investigations and trials in detention facilities in Crimea and Rostov-on-Don.

In 2020, he was acquitted and released in the courtroom due to lack of evidence. This was the first such instance in the "Hizb ut-Tahrir cases" not only in Crimea, but also in Russia. However, in 2022, the Court of Appeal reviewed the Southern District Military Court's ruling and sent the case for a new trial.

In December 2022, Russia's Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don tried Ametov's case and sentenced him to 11 years in a high-security prison.

On November 30, 2023, the appellate military court in Vlasykha upheld Ernes Ametov's sentence.

In May 2024, Ernes Ametov was moved from Crimea to prison No. 12 in Vologda region, Russia.