Recently it became known that since 5 December 2024, a veteran (aksakal) of the Tatar national movement, 70-year-old Fazil Valiakhmetov has been in the pre-trial detention centre of the city of Bugulma, Republic of Tatarstan, the police conducted a search in his house and took him to the pre-trial detention centre. It is known that he will be held in custody until 8 February. According to our sources, the reason for the arrest was his anti-war position and the publication of anti-war materials on the criminal war of Russia in sovereign Ukraine on his Internet resources.
In addition to the fact that Fazil Valiakhmetov is a well-known figure in the Tatar national movement, a local historian, a photojournalist, and a poet, he is also one of the participants in the 1991 political hunger strike. This hunger strike, started on 14 May by the chairman of the Milli Majlis of the Tatar people Fauzia Bayramova, was supported by the true heroes of their time, the leaders of the Tatar people, among whom was Fazil Valiakhmetov. The main goal of this hunger strike was “not holding elections of the President of Russia in Tatarstan”, which was hastily adopted on 13 May 1991 by the Supreme Council of Tatarstan and which contradicted the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Republic of Tatarstan.
Also, Mr. Fazil is the first of the initiators of the opening of the Tatar lyceum and Tatar magazine in the city of Bugulma. Until today, Fazil Valiakhmetov – a representative of the council of aksakals of Tatarstan, supported and was part-time head of the museum-library of the Tatar public figure, historian-Turkologist, teacher, deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Empire of the 2nd convocation from the Samara province (1907) Khadi Atlasi, who the NKVD shot.
The security forces in Russia are alarmed by the fact that recently, information about repressions against Tatar activists has been gaining wide coverage and is being distributed in different countries, which, in turn, is a reason to raise this issue in the UN and other international legal institutions. Therefore, information about the search of the house and the detention of Fazil Valiakhmetov itself was not published in any Russian information resource. Our task, among other things, is not to allow this outrageous arbitrariness against the patriots of the Tatar people to be silenced.
At the moment, Fazil Valiakhmetov’s relatives have not decided whether they will seek help from human rights organizations and lawyers. But we, the Tatar public and all fighters against the totalitarian Moscow empire, should not leave alone the true patriot of the Tatar people Fazil Valiakhmetov, who fearlessly appealed to the Moscow Kremlin’s propaganda deceit.
In general, the security forces in Russia want to bring back the fear and horror of 1937, when close friends, neighbours and even relatives could not trust each other and were afraid to discuss any political topics. But let’s not let the followers of the NKVD take over from us. Let’s remain loyal to our ideals of freedom and independence in our native land! Together – we are strong!
Sincerely!
Rafis Kashapov is the Prime Minister of the Government of Independent Tatarstan in exile;
Aida Abdrakhmanova – Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Independent Tatarstan in Exile for National and Religious Issues;
Nafis Kashapov – Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Independent Tatarstan in Exile for Sports;
Zufar Zainullin – Ambassador of the Government of Independent Tatarstan in Exile to the Republic of Latvia;
Vyacheslav Sivchik – Honorary Consul in Belarus of the Government of Independent Tatarstan in Exile;
Dmitry Kuznetsov – Representative of the Government of Independent Tatarstan in exile in the Republic of Finland.
Правительство Независимого Татарстана
