Ruslan Zeytullaev has, fortunately, ended the hunger strike declared in protest at his increased sentence and the persecution of the Crimean Tatar people, but for a worrying reason. The 31-year-old Crimean Tatar, whose release has been demanded by European bodies as well as human rights NGO’s is being sent to the Russian republic of Bashkiria (Bashkortostan) thousands of kilometres from his wife, three small children and elderly mother. If the conditions in the remand prison in Rostov are bad, those during the gruelling journey are even worse, and it would be an act of suicide to continue the hunger strike.
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Halya Coynash: Russia again flouts European Court to hide Crimean Tatar political prisoner Ruslan Zeytullaev
Russian judges sentenced political prisoner, Crimean Tatar Ruslan Zeytullaev, 31-year-old father of three, to 15 years’ maximum security.
