Citizen journalist and Crimean Solidarity activist Remzi Bekirov, sentenced to 19 years in prison by Russia, has sent a letter as part of the “Letters to Free Crimea” initiative, thanking for the support and talking about his life in prison, reports the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, who received the journalist’s letter on 5 October.
Remzi Bekirov, who is imprisoned in Khakassia (Russia), thanked for the letter of support:
“I recently received a warming letter from you with kind words of support. I must admit, I was very pleased! … These may be just words out in the free world, but here, in prison, they light up our hearts. Thank you all for your support! My cellmates also appreciated your creativity. They were once again surprised to find out who they were sharing the cell with.”
Bekirov said that he felt well, read, prayed, and contemplated life a lot. Despite the hardship, he also sees some upsides in the prison experience: meeting new people, deeper reflections, spiritual growth. He shared stories of meeting famous and different people, from artists to “traitors” and criminals.
The journalist hopes that everyone overcomes their ordeals and peace comes, and invites friends to visit his homeland, Crimea.
“Letters to Free Crimea” is an initiative by the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, PEN Ukraine, and the Human Rights Center ZMINA, which were joined by the media initiative Crimea Daily and the NGOs KrymSOS and Crimean Process. The campaign allows anyone to write a letter to unlawfully imprisoned citizens of Ukraine who are in Russian custody in Crimea or have been illegally moved from the occupied Crimea to the territory of Russia.
Remzi Bekirov is a citizen journalist with Crimean Solidarity. He was detained in occupied Crimea during mass searches in the homes of Crimean Tatar activists on 27 March 2019. A Russian court sentenced him to 19 years in prison on charges of terrorism in 2022. Remzi has since been repeatedly moved to different prisons in the remote regions of Russia, where he faces systemic pressure and has been arbitrarily placed in solitary confinement multiple times. The journalist has lost 15 kilograms of weight while in prison. He is now in colony No. 33 in Abakan (Khakassia Republic, Russia).
