New York, November 26, 2025—Russian authorities should immediately release Crimean Tatar journalist Vilen Temeryanov and end their crackdown on independent voices in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Crimea, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. 

On November 26, the Southern District Military Court in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don convicted Temeryanov on charges of participating in the activities of a terrorist organization and preparing for a violent seizure of power, and sentenced him to 14 years in prison. 

The court ruled that Temeryanov will serve the first three years of his sentence in a prison, and the remainder in a strict-security prison colony. Temeryanov denied the charges and plans to appeal his sentence, a source close to his case told CPJ under condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. 

Russia cracked down on independent media following its 2014 occupation of Crimea and the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Many Ukrainian journalists, including Crimean Tatars, the predominantly Muslim indigenous ethnic group of the Crimean peninsula, have been persecuted in connection with their reporting. Russia currently holds at least 12 Ukrainian journalists behind bars; seven of them are Crimean Tatars.

“After holding Crimean journalist Vilen Temeryanov captive for over three years, Russian occupation authorities sentenced him to 14 years behind bars in retaliation for his work,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “This signals how scared Russia is of any independent reporting from Ukraine’s occupied territories. Russian authorities must immediately release Temeryanov and all other imprisoned members of the press.” 

Russian authorities have detained Temeryanov, a correspondent for the human rights group Crimean Solidarity and the independent news website Grani, since August 11, 2022, after searching his home in the village of Vilne, in Crimea. Authorities also arrested five Crimean Tatar activists that day. Four of them were sentenced along with Temeryanov to prison terms ranging from 13 to 19 years.

Authorities accuse Temeryanov of being a member of the Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which Russian authorities have banned and consider a terrorist organization. The group is allowed to operate legally in Ukraine. 

“I am a Muslim and a journalist, and after studying reality all these years, I have come to the conclusion that where there is an intention to commit terror in the form of persecution, intimidation, and destruction of families and peace among the people, there is no place for justice,” Temeryanov said in a final statement on November 25.

CPJ emailed the press service of Rostov Region’s prosecutor’s office but did immediately receive a reply.