The Supreme Court of Crimea has overturned the decision to detain blind Crimean resident Aleksandr Sizikov for 10 days.

The court ruled to release the man due to his state of health, reports “Crimean Solidarity.” However, Sizikov’s whereabouts are unknown.

His lawyer went to the detention centre in Bakhchisaray, a city in Crimea, where the Crimean man was initially held. There, they were told that Sizikov had been sent to Simferopol, but he could not be found either at the local detention centre or the special holding facility.

Sizikov was detained following a search of his home. He was charged with disobeying the police because he allegedly refused to go to the station—something he himself denied. Nevertheless, he was arrested for ten days.

In Sizikov’s view, his detention and arrest were related to the decision of an appeals court, which overturned the ruling to free him from prison. In the spring, the Crimean man was released from criminal punishment on health grounds. His lawyer assumed that after the administrative arrest, Sizikov would be returned to prison.

5 November Sizikov was found in the pre-trial detention centre in Simferopol, the main city in Crimea. His support group reported this on 31 October.

He was taken to see an ophthalmologist and a neurologist, who indicated in their documents that he could be held in detention.

Blind Crimean resident Aleksandr Sizikov was planted with books. The court sent him to a penal colony for 17 years as a supposed leader of a “terrorist” cell Now the Federal Penitentiary Service and investigators are blaming each other for responsibility.

OVD-Info

24 January 2025