“My deportation. Reports of a Crimean journalist written in detention”: book by Osman Arifmemetov

The book by Crimean Tatar civic journalist and political prisoner Osman Arifmemetov, “My deportation. Reports of a Crimean journalist written in detention,” soon to be released. 

Osman Arifmemetov is a mathematician by education, one of the first civic journalists in Crimea, and an activist of Crimean Solidarity. Since 2015, he actively covered illegal searches of Crimean Tatar activists’ homes and fabricated court trials. 

In 2019, he was illegally imprisoned by the Russian authorities on fabricated charges of terrorist activity. On 24 November 2022, Russias Southern District Military Court sentenced Arifmemetov to 14 years in prison, with the first four years to be served in prison and the remainder in a maximum security penal colony. Osman is currently in prison, 5,000 kilometres from Crimea, in Minusinsk prison in the Krasnoyarsk region of Russia. He wrote this book in prison. His first professional journalistic reports from the detention centre were published by the online publication Graty — an independent Ukrainian media outlet that covers the most important socio-political events and trends through the prism of court proceedings and criminal cases. 

In his reports, he describes in detail the realities of life in prison cells, the abuse suffered by prisoners, and the falsifications that underlie the Russian judicial system in occupied Crimea. Despite the harsh conditions, Osman retains his faith, common sense and subtle irony, and his notes are full of hope and readiness for a new fight for the future of his people.

“This is a deeply personal and at the same time socially significant text, created in extremely difficult conditions – within the walls of Russian pre-trial detention centres. Thanks to the initiative of the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, this voice from behind bars will be heard by a wide audience“, said Tetiana Pechonchyk, Head of the Human Rights Centre ZMINA.

The human rights defender said that the book is based on texts written by Osman Arifmemetov while he was imprisoned in a pre-trial detention centre in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. He spent several years writing the book. He first described how he was detained, then how he was unfairly tried, and then about his transfer to the Krasnoyarsk region. He sent his reports from the pre-trial detention centre in Simferopol, then from the pre-trial detention centres in Rostov-on-Don and Novocherkassk, and later from the prison in Minusinsk. The text was translated into Ukrainian by translator Mariia Horbach and prepared for publication in 2024.

The foreword to the book was written by former political prisoner Nariman Dzhelial, and the afterword, which includes Osman’s biography, was written by Tetiana Pechonchyk, Head of the Human Rights Centre ZMINA. The book also includes reviews from Osman’s fellow journalists Taras Ibrahimov, Oleksandra Yefymenko, Alona Savchuk, and Remzi Bekirov. The book was edited by journalist Ailin Ametova and human rights defender and project manager of the Human Rights Centre ZMINA Viktoriia Nesterenko.

“We became acquainted prior to his arrest. I cannot recall exactly when we first met, but we frequently saw each other at court hearings and events in support of political prisoners and their families. As a journalist, he often asked me for comments. Always polite and attentive, fragile on the outside but strong on the inside, Osman inspired fondness. He never betrayed himself or his friends. At every court hearing, he fought against the harsh, indifferent, cruel repressive machine that has been destroying people’s lives for decades“, wrote Nariman Dzhelial, first deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, in the foreword.

This publication was made possible through the cooperation between the publishing house Vikhola and the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, with financial support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic as part of the Transition Promotion Program. The views expressed in this material belong to the authors and do not reflect the official position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.

The release of the book in Ukrainian is expected on 21 May 2025 and can be pre-ordered. The English version of the book is expected soon.