Visually impaired Crimean resident Aleksandr Sizikov has been detained again

Alexander Sizikov, a blind resident of Crimea, has been detained once again. This was reported by Crimean Solidarity and RusNews.

At night, about 20 law enforcement officers searched Sizikov’s home. The family’s laptops and phones were confiscated. Elena Sizikova, Alexander’s mother, recalls: “They broke in, read out the order from some investigator of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Bakhchysarai district. Some police lieutenant wrote a report about Sasha. They took him away. I packed a bag for him, managed what I could. They were hurrying us, nervous that it was taking too long.”

RusNews reports that Sizikov’s mother was told a new criminal case had been opened against her son.

Two days ago, it became known that the appeals court overturned the decision to release Alexander Sizikov from punishment due to his health. Alexander has been diagnosed with complete blindness and hypertension. In 2023, Sizikov was sentenced to 17 years in prison for allegedly organising activities of Hizb ut-Tahrir. Books supposedly found at his home were used as physical evidence, even though he could not have read them.

• The organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir is designated as a terrorist group in Russia. Human rights organisations have repeatedly pointed out that this status is unlawful.