In Tatarstan, 69-year-old local historian and journalist Fazyl Valiakhmetov was placed in the Bugulma pre-trial detention center, representatives of the Tatar national movement in exile reported. They did not specify under which article the criminal case was initiated, noting that he is being persecuted for his anti-war stance and online publications.
Valiakhmetov's home was searched at the beginning of December, after which the court sent the activist to the investigative isolation ward.
In December 2023, the Bugulma City Court of Tatarstan fined the local historian 30,000 rubles under a protocol for «discrediting» the army for reposting an anti-war video.
Fazyl Valiakhmetov — a local historian, activist, and photojournalist, participated in a political hunger strike in Kazan in May 1991 for the sovereignty of Tatarstan and to prevent the holding of Russian presidential elections in the republic. He was the initiator of the opening of a Tatar lyceum and journal in Bugulma and headed the museum-library of the repressed Tatar public figure Khadi Atlasi.
This is at least the second criminal case against a veteran of the Tatar national movement this year. In September 2024, a search was conducted at the home of 73-year-old activist Zinnur Agliullin from Naberezhnye Chelny. A criminal case was initiated against him for repeated «incitement of hatred or enmity» due to statements that Russians «kill other peoples».
Photo: Movement «Azatlyk»