Statement of the Committee of the Bashkir National Movement Abroad in Defense of Azat Miftakhov
We, representatives of the Bashkir National Movement, address the human rights community and our brotherly Tatar people. We cannot remain silent as we witness the system deliberately and methodically destroying the life of Azat Miftakhov — a talented young scientist and political prisoner.
The news coming from the penal colony about the constant abuse, psychological pressure, and physical violence against Azat causes us enormous outrage. This is not merely arbitrary abuse at the local level, but a demonstrative act of revenge by the system against a person who refuses to renounce his convictions.
Azat Miftakhov is a gifted mathematician with a brilliant analytical mind. It is important to understand the scale of what is happening: in any normal country, scientists of this caliber become a source of pride for society. They serve as living examples for other young people, they make fundamental discoveries, and become prize laureates and stars within the scientific community.
Developed countries around the world compete for such people and do everything possible to ensure comfortable working conditions for them so that young scientists do not leave. But instead of receiving the recognition he deserves, Azat is serving an unjust sentence. Through regular placements in punitive isolation cells, the system is attempting to punish him for his inner freedom and break him as a person.
In a state governed by the rule of law, the people who fabricate cases and torture prisoners would themselves end up in the dock. The fact that prison officials today feel complete impunity only reveals the weakness of a system that is panic-stricken by educated and free people. However, this arbitrariness is not eternal. Everyone who is now destroying Azat’s life will sooner or later answer for their crimes before the law.
We cannot remain silent while independent Tatarstan is being deprived of its future. Azat Miftakhov is one of the best representatives of Tatar youth, its voice and intellect. When the most educated and honest people end up in prison for political reasons, the republic loses its main potential for development.
The Bashkirs, as a brotherly people, fully share this pain. The situation with Azat is our common problem. It is a tragedy for all small nations on the territory of the so-called Russian Federation. By persecuting such people, Moscow is attempting to deprive our peoples of their intellectual elite and of the right to independently build their future.
The Bashkir National Movement expresses its sincere solidarity with Azat Miftakhov, his relatives, his comrades, and the entire Tatar people.
We appeal to European human rights and international organizations not only with the aim of drawing attention to Azat Miftakhov’s situation.
We consider it necessary to minimize any interaction with Russia in the scientific, economic, and public spheres for as long as the Russian state considers the persecution and destruction of its own scientists, activists, and citizens acceptable.
We ask Western politicians, public figures, and human rights organizations to become involved in securing the release of Azat Miftakhov.
Freedom for Azat Miftakhov!

Комитет Башкирского национального движения за рубежом.

20.05.2025 https://www.bashnd.org/post/_azat