“On June 1, it became known about death at the age of 88 years of prominent Crimean Tatar figure, a historian, a journalist and a symbol of the national movement of Aisha Seitmuratova. This was reported by the head of the Majlis of the Crimean Tatar people Refat Chubarov, calling it a “legendary dissident”, the political prisoner of the Soviet regime and a veteran of the struggle for the rights of the Crimean Tatars. Aisha Seitmuratova was born on February 11, 1937 in Aji-Eli, on”, – WRITE ON: ua.news
On June 1, it became known about death at the age of 88 years of prominent Crimean Tatar figure, a historian, a journalist and a symbol of the national movement of Aisha Seitmuratova.
This was reported by the head of the Majlis of the Crimean Tatar people Refat Chubarov, calling it a “legendary dissident”, the political prisoner of the Soviet regime and a veteran of the struggle for the rights of the Crimean Tatars.
Aisha Seitmuratova was born on February 11, 1937 in Azhi-Eli, on the territory of the Crimean ASSR. From her youth, she became an active participant in the Crimean Tatar national movement, which in the 1960s unfolded in exile in Central Asia after the deportation of the people.
In 1964, she joined the initiative group in the Samarkand region, participated in meetings with representatives of Soviet power, repeatedly spoke with an open criticism of the USSR policy on Crimean Tatars.
For its activities, Aisha was arrested twice by the Soviet authorities. In 1966, it was first detained for “ignition of national hostility”, and in 1971 – for “the spread of deliberately false fictions that shame the Soviet state and social order.”
Seitmuratov was sentenced to three years in prison, which she served in Mordovian camps. After his release in 1974, she was banned from engaged in scientific and teaching activities, but she did not stop human rights work.
In 1978, fearing forced psychiatric treatment, she was emigrated to the United States. There she became the voice of the Crimean Tatar people in the world – she worked as a journalist on Voice of America, Freedom, BBC, German wave, talking about repression, Russification and assimilation that threatened its people.
She organized international campaigns for supporting the Crimean Tatars, called for the protection of their rights and returning to their homeland.
In the early 1990s, Seitmuratova returned to Crimea, where she actively engaged in charity-helped the elderly, large families, founded the Merchamet Evi Foundation (“Kindness House”) and opened a boarding house for single elderly people.
It remained a public figure, repeatedly advocated the rights of the Crimean Tatars, sharply criticized Russia’s policy on Crimea and called for unity with Ukraine.
After the occupation of the Crimea in 2014, Aisha Seitmuratov openly condemned the actions of the invaders, emphasizing that the future of the Crimean Tatar people was only with Ukraine.
In recent years, she lived in annexed Crimea, remaining a symbol of unbrokenness, dignity and struggle for the rights of her people.
Recall that over 11 years of occupation, the aggressor country has already moved to Crimea more than 1 million of its citizens.
We have already reported that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized on the day of the struggle for the rights of the Crimean Tatar people – Crimea, like all Ukraine, should be free.
