Weltschau

In Crimea, invaded by Russia in February 2014, journalists, Crimean Tatar activists and clergymen were detained, arrested and sentenced to lengthy prison terms after their homes were raided on fabricated charges. These siblings are subsequently transferred from Crimea to remote prisons in Russia, far off from their residences.

The Crimean Tatar Resource Center stated on September 15, 2025, that 164 out of 289 political prisoners are Crimean Tatar Turks. Individuals designated as political prisoners include journalists, activists, and clerics who, despite having committed no crimes, expose the human rights abuses perpetrated by the occupying Russians.

As the Emel Crimea Foundation and Emel Magazine, we initiated a Card and Letter campaign on December 10, 2023, World Human Rights Day, to remind our brothers and sisters who are political prisoners are being held captive by Russia that we stand with them.

Our objective with this campaign was to provide our politically detained brothers and their relatives in Crimea with a sense of solidarity, inspire optimism, elevate their morale, and fortify their resilience. We wanted to demonstrate the true nature of Russia, in contrast to the more intense Russian propaganda and pro-Russia and Putin sentiment in Turkey as well. The “I Will Always Wait for You, My Child (Balam)!” Photo Album launches and conferences were held as part of this campaign, which received very positive feedback.

The Photo Album titled “I Will Always Wait for You, Balam!” included photographs of 16 mothers whose sons were political prisoners, as well as their biographies and short comments. The photographs in the album were displayed at the Turkish World Research Foundation in Istanbul on October 5, 2024, and the ““I Will Always Wait for You, Balam Conference” was conducted. During the conference, Nariman Celal, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly, who was able to escape three years of Russian captivity through a Prisoner Exchange, addressed the human rights violations in Crimea, which has been under Russian occupation since 2014. Ukrainian ZMİNA Human Rights Center Project Manager Viktoria Nesterenko, Crimea Human Rights Commission member Elvin Kadirov, Ukrainian Istanbul Consul General Roman Nedilskyi, and Emel Crimea Foundation President Zafer Karatay also spoke at the conference.

16 Mothers and Their Sons in The Photo Album “I Will Always Wait for You, Balam!”