Crimean citizen journalist Vilen Temeryanov has been moved to Volgograd oblast pending the appeal against his sentence. His health has declined, Suspilne Crimea reported, citing sources among human rights activists.
A source said that Vilen Temeryanov, 41, a Crimean Tatar activist and citizen journalist, is now detained at Treatment and Penalty Facility (TPF) No. 23 of Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service in Uryupinsk, Volgograd oblast. The source learned this from the journalist’s family.
Temeryanov was moved out of Rostov oblast in early July 2026, ahead of the appeal trial against his sentence.
His relatives say they have received no letters from him for six days now and suspect he may have been moved again.
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Temeryanov himself has described his health as “neglected.” He has complained of severe pain in his back and kidneys. For the past five days, medical staff have been giving him daily injections of Ceftriaxone, an antibiotic. Temeryanov’s relatives say he has never experienced kidney problems before.
The journalist links his state to the “gruelling transfer.” He said that he and other convicts had been “crammed into a vehicle” for the journey. He fainted due to the heat and lack of oxygen in the car.
Temeryanov came round after guards took him outside, but spent the entire journey in a draught and was “soaked to the skin.” According to his family, Temeryanov “caught a chill,” got “very cold,” and then “started trembling.”
The journalist also wrote that his weight had dropped significantly, from 90 to 73 kilograms.
“Judging by what he’s said, the transfer wasn’t easy. Only he and the Almighty know exactly what happened and how,” the journalist’s relatives added.
The detention conditions
At TPF-23, Temeryanov was imprisoned in a small cell measuring roughly four by two metres. He shared the cell with another Muslim convict.
The journalist says there was video surveillance in the cell. Not sleeping after 10pm was forbidden, and they were only allowed to get up to use the toilet or to drink some water.
He describes the meals at the facility as meagre.
“He only eats when they bring potatoes, fish, or porridge. The rest is suspicious, he doesn’t take it,” the journalist’s relatives say.
Because there has been no electricity at the post office in Crimea, the family has been unable to send Temeryanov a parcel.
“Vilen really misses talking to people, getting letters. He and his cellmate are on their own, there’s no one to talk to. The books he’d collected in Rostov haven’t been given to him yet after inspection. He tries to read what he has, and mostly draws. He can’t perform namaz between 10pm and 6am, since that would be counted as a schedule violation and go against him in his personal file,” Temeryanov’s relatives add.