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

On 21 May 2025, a book by Crimean Tatar civic journalist and political prisoner Osman Arifmemetov, “My deportation. Reports of a Crimean journalist written in detention”, was published. The publication is the result of cooperation between the Vikhola publishing house and the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.

Osman Arifmemetov is a mathematician by education, one of the first civic journalists in Crimea and an activist of Crimean Solidarity. Since 2015, he has been covering illegal searches and fabricated trials in occupied Crimea. In 2019, he was illegally imprisoned by the Russian authorities on charges of terrorist activity. He was illegally detained in Minusinsk prison in the Krasnoyarsk region of Russia, but is now being transferred to the Orenburg region.

The book consists of reports written by Osman in various detention centres and prisons, from Simferopol to Minusinsk. In these reports, the author describes in detail the realities of life in prison cells, the abuse of prisoners and the falsification of evidence in the Russian judicial system. 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.

The book was edited by journalist Ailin Ametova and human rights defender and Project Manager of the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, Viktoriia Nesterenko.

“A lot of effort was put in by people at various levels to get this book published. I hope that thanks to our joint efforts, more and more readers will learn the truth about what our fellow citizens are actually facing under occupation and how important it is to continue the fight for the return of our people,” Nesterenko emphasised.

The foreword to the book was written by former political prisoner Nariman Dzhelyal, and the afterword by Tetiana Pechonchyk, Head of the Board of the Human Rights Centre ZMINA. The text was translated into Ukrainian by translator Mariia Horbach and prepared for publication in 2024. The publication also includes reviews from Osman’s fellow journalists Taras Ibrahimov, Oleksandra Yefymenko, Alona Savchuk, and Remzi Bekirov.

“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 Dzhelyal in the foreword.

“Osman Arifmemetov, who was a programmer and math tutor, has an extraordinary talent as a journalist and publicist. This talent emerged through, unfortunately, dramatic events – the Russian occupation of Crimea, searches, arrests and imprisonment of his neighbours, friends and colleagues. Osman simply could not stand aside; he ran around with his phone, recording everything, streaming live, and eventually ended up behind bars himself,” says Tetiana Pechonchyk.

According to her, Osman Arifmemetov has been held captive in Russia for six years, while hundreds and thousands of people in Ukraine and abroad continue to fight for his release and the liberation of other Kremlin prisoners.

Osman Arifmemetov was illegally detained at the end of 2019. The occupiers accused him of allegedly ‘organising the activities of a terrorist organisation and participating in the activities of such an organisation.’ And only on 24 November 2022, after years of torture and psychological pressure, he was illegally sentenced to 14 years in prison, with the first four years to be served in prison and the rest in a strict regime colony.

Osman Arifmemetov was illegally detained at the end of 2019. The occupiers accused him of allegedly ‘organising the activities of a terrorist organisation and participating in the activities of such an organisation.’ And only on 24 November 2022, after years of torture and psychological pressure, he was illegally sentenced to 14 years in prison, with the first four years to be served in prison and the rest in a maximum-security penal colony.

The book is available for order in both print and electronic formats:

Print version: https://bit.ly/4lqVM2h

E-book version: https://bit.ly/3HhoWkK

The book is also available for purchase in bookstores.

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.