{"id":112015,"date":"2024-07-23T17:35:34","date_gmt":"2024-07-23T14:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theukrainians.org\/sejran-saliiev-bez-iakoho-nichoho-ne-vyjde\/"},"modified":"2024-11-22T13:31:23","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T10:31:23","slug":"sejran-saliiev-bez-iakoho-nichoho-ne-vyjde","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/sejran-saliiev-bez-iakoho-nichoho-ne-vyjde\/","title":{"rendered":"Seyran Saliyev, without whom things just won\u2019t happen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Seyran Saliyev is a Crimean Tatar activist and citizen journalist; a political prisoner.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was born in 1985 in Abinsk, Krasnodar Krai, Russia. His mother, Zodiye Saliyeva, is a veteran advocate of the Crimean Tatar national movement for the return of their people to their homeland. Saliyev was seven years old when his family resettled in Crimea.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2003, he enrolled in the Simferopol Higher Vocation School to train as a PC operator. He holds an undergraduate degree in Turkish and Crimean Tatar languages.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saliyev worked in trade and as a tour guide while actively volunteering and engaging in public activism. He taught Arabic and the fundamentals of religion and history to children.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the occupation of Crimea and subsequent persecutions, Saliyev turned to citizen journalism, documenting the persecutions of Crimean Tatars.  In 2017, he was arrested under accusations of involvement with Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamic political organization banned in Russia, but not in Ukraine. In 2020, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Saliyev to sixteen years in prison for \u201cparticipating in the activities of a terrorist organization\u201d; \u201cpreparing for actions aimed at the forcible seizure of power or the forcible retention of power\u201d; and \u201cpublic calls for terrorist activities.\u201d His sentence was later reduced by one year.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a7\u00a7\u00a7<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this narrative portrait, we launch a special project dedicated to the free voices of Crimea. This series of stories about journalists, now political prisoners, is a joint initiative of PEN Ukraine, The Ukrainians Media, ZMINA, and Vivat, supported by NED<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a7\u00a7\u00a7<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Seyran Saliyev\u2019s house, tucked away in a dark corner of a closet, sits a black watch that no longer keeps time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This watch is special. It\u2019s designed for a practicing Muslim, reminding its owner of prayer times five times a day. It\u2019s waterproof, allowing ritual washing before prayers without concern for water damage. And it\u2019s stylish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the most special thing about this watch is that Saliyev purchased it during the happiest days of his marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was in the summer of 2017. By then, Saliyev had already come under the scrutiny of Russian law enforcement, experiencing an arrest and several searches. He realized time was running short. So, he and his wife, Mumine, decided to fulfill one of her most cherished dreams\u2014a pilgrimage to Mecca.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision wasn\u2019t easy: their youngest child, Safiye, had just turned three months old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mumine turned to her parents. Would they be willing to care for their four children while the couple embarked on a pilgrimage that every Muslim must make at least once in their life? \u201cYou must be crazy,\u201d their parents said. \u201cWait another year, at least. We\u2019re not ready to take responsibility for an infant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mumine turned to her mother-in-law, Zodiye Saliyeva. Hearing her question, Saliyeva nodded hesitantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so it happened that in the summer of 2017, the Saliyevs went on their first trip abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSeyran is a homebody,\u201d Mumine says. \u201cIt was always a challenge to get him outside Crimea. A few times, I suggested traveling to Spain. But he\u2019d be like, oh no, we\u2019re building a house, we can\u2019t go. And now, we traveled to a different, wonderful world\u2014free from sin and evil\u2014a place where dreams come true. The energy I felt during those days still nourishes me.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was during that Hajj that Saliyev bought a stylish black watch that reminded its owner of prayer times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three weeks after Saliyev returned home, he was arrested. Before Russian security men were set to detain him, he said goodbye to his wife and took off his watch, handing it to Mumine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That day, the Saliyevs\u2019 apartment was filled with people. Friends and strangers alike came from all across Crimea to support the wife of a recently arrested man. They lingered until night fell. Once alone with her thoughts, Mumine sat on the bed and picked up her husband\u2019s watch, only to find that it had stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A young man in a cool T-shirt<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

They met at the Crimean Engineering and Pedagogical University. Mumine, a fourth-year student, was talking to her friends in the lobby when one of them said, \u201cLook at that guy. See? He\u2019s a practicing Muslim. He lives in our dorm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mumine turned around and met the gaze of a young man in a cool T-shirt and jeans, his hair styled with gel. She didn\u2019t expect a practicing Muslim to look like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From then on, Saliyev often lingered in the hallway to see her. One day, he mustered the courage to approach her and introduce himself.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They wanted to get married while Mumine was still in her fourth year of college. But her parents insisted, \u201cYou can see and get to know each other better, but marriage is out of the question until you graduate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast-forward eighteen months. At the end of August 2006, Mumine received her diploma. That very evening, Saliyev and his mother visited his sweetheart\u2019s parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, that\u2019s it. We did as you wished, and now we want to get married,\u201d Saliyev said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d his mother confirmed. \u201cWe can plan a wedding in six months, in the spring.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the spring, we\u2019re planting potatoes,\u201d Mumine\u2019s father remarked. \u201cLet\u2019s plan for the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A wedding is always a significant occasion, especially one with a few hundred guests, as is traditional with Crimean Tatars. Weddings are planned months in advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy son was twenty-one. No degree, no job, no place of his own\u2026 and talking about a wedding? I could hardly imagine that,\u201d Zodiye Saliyeva recollects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saliyev and Mumine got married a week after they delivered an ultimatum to their parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three hundred guests gathered in a huge tent not far from the mosque. The bride wore a red dress. They danced the night away.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Saliyev studied languages, but Mumine never received romantic messages from him before the wedding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeace, mercy, blessing, and good patience of the Almighty to you, my life partner. May the Almighty be satisfied with you in all respects,\u201d he would write to her from behind prison bars years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI never saw him writing letters. Before we got married, I received only one romantic message from him\u2014three sentences long,\u201d says Mumine. \u201cAnd now, Seyran walks into the visitation room with a black backpack stuffed with letters. \u2018This letter,\u2019 he tells me, \u2018is to the ambassador; this one to my mentor; that one to my people; and these two to neighbors and family.\u2019 It\u2019s as if he\u2019s trying to support everyone from inside the prison so they don\u2019t lose hope.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThings just won\u2019t happen there without me\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Saliyev found himself at his first protest campaign when he was only seven months old. Things like this happen when your mother is an activist in the Crimean Tatar national movement advocating for the return of her people to their homeland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat day, fellow activists and I marched to the district executive committee to voice our demands,\u201d Zodiye Saliyeva says. \u201cI held Seyran in my arms because I didn\u2019t have anyone to babysit him.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Seyran was eighteen months old, his mother left him with her parents for a few weeks and traveled from Krasnodar Krai to Moscow. In 1987, Crimean Tatars organized a series of mass protest campaigns, including one on Red Square. \u201cThings just won\u2019t happen there without me,\u201d Zodiye told her parents, explaining her intention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her son, Seyran, inherited his mother\u2019s confidence that things just wouldn\u2019t happen without his involvement.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Civic activity is a significant part of his life. He volunteered to help sick children. Helped organize religious and national holidays. Sat on judging panels during the tournaments in kuresh,  Crimean Tatar national wrestling. Taught Arabic and the fundamentals of religion and history to children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the occupation of Crimea, searches in Crimean Tatar homes and trials based on fabricated accusations would become a new reality. Saliyev would go to the courthouse to support his people. He would become a citizen journalist.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He first confronted the Russian machinery of repression on May 12, 2016. That day, Russians conducted mass searches of Crimean Tatar homes in Bakhchysarai. Saliyev rushed to catch the bus as soon as he heard about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, sending a message in a group chat is enough to alert your community to the misfortune that knocked on its members\u2019 doors. Back then, these chats did not exist, so Saliyev went to the mosque to alert his people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A loudspeaker on top of the minaret amplified the call to prayer made at the appropriate hours. This time, it amplified Saliyev\u2019s voice as he informed the community about the addresses of house searches so that people could go and support their fellow citizens.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The occupation court classified Saliyev\u2019s actions as organizing an unauthorized rally and fined him twenty thousand rubles.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saliyev would not be intimidated, though. He continued to actively support Crimean Tatars persecuted by Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2017, Saliyev\u2019s three children first saw armed men in balaclavas in their own home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn January 20, they discharged me from the hospital. I was pregnant with our fourth child, and the pregnancy was complicated,\u201d Mumine recalls. \u201cI remember that on January 27, there was a snowstorm. It was bitterly cold. When they started pounding on the door at five in the morning, I immediately knew who it was. There were riot police, police trucks, and even dogs. And they only brought dogs on particular occasions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They searched the Saliyevs\u2019 apartment and led the head of the household outside in handcuffs. The court sentenced him to twelve days in detention for posting a song by Chechen bard Timur Mutsurayev, which was banned in Russia, on his page in social media. The judge ignored the fact that Saliyev had actually posted the song before Crimea was occupied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the detention, Saliyev realized that if he and his wife didn\u2019t perform Hajj as soon as possible, they wouldn\u2019t be able to do it later, at least not for a long while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he proved to be right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On October 11, 2017, Saliyev and five other Crimean Tatars were arrested. They were accused of participating in the activities of a terrorist organization and preparing for the forcible seizure of power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, the Russian court sentenced Saliyev to seventeen years in prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To change your environment before it changes you<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It takes 1,500 kilometers and two days of \u201cliving\u201d on a series of trains to get from Bakhchysarai to the penal colony in the Tula region where Saliyev is being held.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March 2024, Mumine made this trek with her four children: Salikh, Samiya, Suriye, and the youngest, Safiye. It wasn\u2019t her first trip to see her husband, and she felt anxious before each one. However, the nature of her anxieties differed significantly each time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Mumine traveled there for the first time, she was worried that five years in isolation, surrounded by actual criminals, might have profoundly affected her husband. \u201cWhat would he be like?\u201d she wondered. \u201cWhat if his ideas had changed? What if he would speak to me using prison slang?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During her most recent trip, she had a different concern: What if they traveled all the way to the Tula region only to be told that the administration of the penal colony would not allow Saliyev\u2019s family to see him? Mumine is no longer worried that prison might turn her husband into a different person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they saw each other in the spring of 2024, Saliyev was staying in the same barrack with ninety-seven prisoners. He was the only political prisoner; the others were imprisoned for drug dealing. It was in this environment that Saliyev tried to maintain his dignity, good health, and convictions.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In a letter to his wife, he shared a story about a walk. On a winter day, Saliyev and three fellow inmates were taken for a walk in the courtyard. Seeing that the yard was full of puddles, Saliyev demanded that the guard take them to a different place where they wouldn\u2019t have to slosh through water. \u201cThere are puddles in all yards,\u201d the guard claimed. But Saliyev wouldn\u2019t budge.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The guard took them to another yard. However, it was also full of puddles. Saliyev voiced his demands again. Only then did the guard take them to a dry yard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSuddenly, the guard asked me, \u2018Are you from Crimea by any chance?\u2019\u201d Saliyev wrote in his letter. \u201cAnd I said that yes, I\u2019m from Crimea. And then he said, \u2018That\u2019s what I thought,\u2019 meaning that in this prison, only Crimean people were so demanding and refused to keep silent.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t betray his principles,\u201d Mumine says, talking about her husband. \u201cSeyran continues to live the life he lived on the outside. He knows that the group influences the individual. So, he\u2019s trying to change the group.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holiday at the stadium<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

February 7, 2017, marked a true holiday for the Saliyev family. Their apartment and the communal hallway were decorated with balloons and Saliyev\u2019s photos. In the yard, pilaf cooked in a cauldron over an open fire while tables brimmed with treats. Crimean Tatar music filled the air. That day, hundreds of friends, acquaintances, and supporters of their cause arrived at the family\u2019s doorstep.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason? Saliyev had returned home after an administrative arrest, having spent twelve days behind bars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone wanted to hug him, shake his hand, and offer words of support. Saliyev couldn\u2019t resist dancing that night. He later confided to his wife that he had never expected such a warm welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In their letters, other Crimean Tatar political prisoners, still incarcerated at the time, expressed hope that people awaited their return and one day would welcome them back as warmly as they did Saliyev.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, the court of appeal reviewed Saliyev\u2019s case and reduced his sentence by one year. The Russian judiciary won\u2019t release Saliyev until 2032.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mumine Saliyeva dreams of an earlier release for her husband. She also dreams of the day when all Crimean political prisoners will be freed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis will be a great holiday for all of Crimea,\u201d she says. \u201cIt will go down in history. We\u2019ll rent a huge stadium in Bakhchysarai because none of us, the wives of political prisoners, can imagine welcoming our husbands alone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This text was written in April\u2013May 2024<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translated by Hanna Leliv<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u041a\u043e\u043b\u0430\u0436\u0456 \u0410\u043d\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0430\u0441\u0456\u0457 \u0421\u0442\u0440\u0443\u043a. \u0423 \u0437\u043e\u0431\u0440\u0430\u0436\u0435\u043d\u043d\u044f\u0445 \u0432\u0438\u043a\u043e\u0440\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0430\u043d\u043e \u0456\u043b\u044e\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0446\u0456\u044e \u041c\u0430\u0440\u0456\u0457 \u0413\u043b\u0443\u0448\u043a\u043e, \u0430 \u0442\u0430\u043a\u043e\u0436 \u0441\u0432\u0456\u0442\u043b\u0438\u043d\u0438 \u0437 \u0440\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043d\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0430\u0440\u0445\u0456\u0432\u0443, \u041a\u0440\u0438\u043c\u0441\u044c\u043a\u043e\u0457 \u0441\u043e\u043b\u0456\u0434\u0430\u0440\u043d\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0456 \u0439 \u0410\u043d\u0442\u043e\u043d\u0430 \u041d\u0430\u0443\u043c\u043b\u044e\u043a\u0430.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saliyev found himself at his first protest campaign when he was only seven months old. Things like this happen when your mother is an activist in the Crimean Tatar national movement advocating for the return of her people to their homeland<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":110344,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2320,2244],"tags":[2324,2323,2266],"class_list":["post-112015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-free-crimea-en","category-interview-en","tag-free-crimea-en","tag-politv-iazni-en","tag-ukrainskyj-pen-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112015"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112017,"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112015\/revisions\/112017"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}