Convicted Crimean Tatar Mother Begins Hunger Strike, Cites ‘Appalling’ Conditions in Simferopol Detention Center

A Crimean Tatar woman convicted of treason in Russia-annexed Crimea has begun a hunger strike, saying she was placed in insanitary and dangerous conditions at the Akmechet (Simferopol) pre-trial detention center. According to a rights group cited by the channel "Крымский ветер," Niyara Ersmambetova, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison, declared the hunger strike after being held in a dirty cell whose toilet does not function and which authorities have refused to repair.

Rights defenders say the cell where Ersmambetova was placed previously housed people with tuberculosis, raising immediate concerns about the risk to her health. After her arrival in the detention center, Ersmambetova reported a number of medical problems: the appearance of rashes on her body, a sharp increase in blood sugar levels, and an overall deterioration in her health, according to the reporting cited by local channels and legal advocates.

Detention center authorities, the rights group said, have declined requests to carry out renovations to the cell. The combination of a malfunctioning toilet, persistent filth and a history of contagious disease among prior occupants prompted Ersmambetova to adopt the hunger strike as a protest against the conditions she describes as "коточкыч" — appalling.

Ersmambetova was detained by the FSB in May of the previous year while working in a pharmacy in the Сәетләр районында area of Crimea. Prosecutors accused her of collaborating with the partisan group "АТЕШ," alleging that she provided information about fuel and lubrication depots in Crimea that, investigators say, could be used to prepare attacks. During the investigation authorities sought a sentence of 18 years in prison, while the court ultimately sentenced her to 15 years.

Her detention and sentence have left two small children without their mother. The children are now in the care of Ersmambetova’s elderly father, according to the same accounts. The family circumstances and the report of failing health have been highlighted by rights activists as part of broader calls for attention to the humanitarian impact of criminal prosecutions in occupied Crimea.

The case has significance beyond the immediate details of Ersmambetova’s detention. Human rights groups and legal monitors have repeatedly warned that detainees in Crimean and Russian facilities face substandard conditions, including overcrowding, poor sanitation and limited medical access; hunger strikes historically have been one of the few available means for inmates to protest conditions and seek outside scrutiny. Observers say such conditions are particularly concerning where cells have been used by people with infectious diseases such as tuberculosis.

Azatlyk’s reporting of the developments notes that channels such as "Крымский ветер" have relayed information from rights defenders about Ersmambetova’s status and the state of the cell. The broader context of FSB arrests in Crimea, accusations linked to partisan activity, and the heavy sentences sought by prosecutors have drawn international attention to the treatment of minority communities and political activists in the peninsula since its annexation.

As of the latest reports, there has been no public statement from detention authorities addressing Ersmambetova’s hunger strike or the specific allegations about the cell’s condition. Her case and current protest are likely to amplify scrutiny from human rights organizations monitoring political prosecutions and detention conditions in Crimea and Russia more broadly.