Invitation to a press conference (September 25)

Crimean Tatar activists and the mother of the youngest Crimean Tatar in political captivity report on the situation on the peninsula and the fate of political prisoners. We cordially invite you to this discussion:

Thursday, September 25, 2025, starting at 11 a.m.

At the STP office in Berlin, Reinhardtstraße 27b, 10117 Berlin.

The Crimean Tatars, the indigenous people of Crimea, are being systematically persecuted on the peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014 in violation of international law. Of the 220 political prisoners currently held in Crimea, 133 are Crimean Tatars, even though they make up only 12 percent of the population. Sarah Reinke, head of human rights work at the STP, will report on their situation and the human rights situation on the peninsula as a whole, together with Aishe Kurtamet, the mother of the youngest Crimean Tatar prisoner, Appaz Kurtamet. Other Crimean Tatar activists will also take part in the discussion. Together, the panel will explain the political and social background and address demands to German politicians. Dr. Franziska Davies will also take part in the press conference. The prominent Eastern European historian and mentor of political prisoner Appaz Kurtamet is campaigning for his release and for the rights of the Crimean Tatars as a whole.

Before Russia's attack on the whole of Ukraine in February 2022, Appaz Kurtamet worked for an IT company and taught Crimean Tatar at the Crimean Tatar Cultural Center in Odessa. In July 2022, Appaz Kurtamet, then 19 years old, was arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison in April 2023 for allegedly supporting terrorism. A year later, his father was abducted, tortured, and sentenced to eight years in prison.

The Society for Threatened Peoples' latest memorandum on the human rights situation in Crimea will be presented during the press conference.

Participants:

Aishe Kurtamet, mother of Appaz Kurtamet and wife of Khalil Kurtamet, both political prisoners. Aishe Kurtamet is campaigning for the release of Appaz and Khalil Kurtamet.

Dr. Franziska Davies, Leibniz Center for Contemporary History Research Potsdam, Eastern European scholar and mentor to Appaz Kurtament. In this role, she campaigns internationally in the public sphere and in politics for his release.

Elvis Çolpuh, Crimean Tatar human rights activist, founder and president of the European platform “Assembly of Crimean Organizations.”

Sarah Reinke, head of human rights work and Eastern Europe expert at the Society for Threatened Peoples.

Registration:

Please register to participate at presse@gfbv.de.

Following the statements, you will have the opportunity for questions, photos, and individual interviews. We kindly ask you to announce any interview requests in advance so that we can coordinate the appointments. You can reach us by email at presse@gfbv.de or by phone at 0551 49906-21. For questions regarding content, please contact Sarah Reinke at s.reinke@gfbv.de or 0551 / 49906-13.

This press release was translated from German to English using AI. If you come across errors or ambiguities, please contact us at presse@gfbv.de.