Crimean Muslim Latifa (Nina) Malakhova has been released after serving her full four-and-a-half-year sentence in a women's prison in Russia's Krasnodar Krai.

Source : Crimean Tatar journalist and human rights activist Lutfiye Zudiyeva on Facebook

Details : According to Zudiyeva, Malakhova served her sentence in Penal Colony No. 3 in the village of Dvubratskoye, Ust-Labinsk District.

The woman now lives in Russian-occupied Simferopol with her daughter but remains under restrictions that will remain in effect for another year. During this period, she is prohibited from leaving the city, being outside her home between 22:00 and 06:00, attending mass events, and changing her place of residence or work without the permission of the inspection authorities. She is required to report twice a month and be prepared for random checks.

Quote from Malakhova : "The first year and a half was very difficult. It was hard to get used to it, both mentally and physically. Then I pulled myself together – sports, reading, proper nutrition. But my health is still undermined."

Details : Malakhova reported stomach problems, constant headaches and a weakened immune system. During her imprisonment, she lost 12 kilograms.

Malakhova said that she did not experience physical pressure or torture in the colony, but she was twice placed in a punishment cell for performing namaz (mandatory prayer) at her workplace. Later, she managed to negotiate with the administration to pray during breaks.

After her release, the woman spent several weeks with her husband's relatives in Bashkiria and then moved with her daughter to a rented flat in Simferopol. The girl lived with her father's family throughout her mother's imprisonment.

Malakhova's husband, Ruzil Yapparov, remains in prison.

Quote from Malakhova : "It's very difficult. Especially being away from my family and child. Praise be to Allah, I am now at home."

Background :

• Latifa Malakhova and her husband were detained by FSB officers on 14 February 2021 in Kazan, after which they were transferred to Crimea for the selection of a preventive measure. Their one-month-old daughter, Melisa, was brought to court with them. The couple's criminal cases were considered separately.
• On 7 July 2021, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Malakhova, accused of aiding a terrorist organisation through charitable activities and fundraising on the internet, to four and a half years in a general regime colony.

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