These are the words of Appaz Kurtamet, a 21-year-old Crimean who was abducted by the Russian occupiers in the occupied Kherson region almost three years ago and imprisoned for 7 years. We have been tracking the story of his disappearance, subsequent imprisonment and stay in a Russian prison since the very beginning. Unfortunately, there are more and more stories like this: as of February 11, 2025, the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea was aware of 221 Crimean political prisoners, 134 of whom were Crimean Tatars. Only two Crimeans - Nariman Celâl and Leniye Umerova - Russians agreed to exchange.

Six months after his release, Nariman Celâl came to Berlin for a panel discussion in the Bundestag, where he stated: "You have no idea how important it is to write letters to prisons! First of all, it is a great psychological support for prisoners and their families. You are sitting there, cut off from the rest of the world, and these letters are like a breath of fresh air. Secondly, it is a sign to the Russians that we do not forget about our citizens and that we do not accept their unjust sentences."

Viktoria Savchuk, a Ukrainian lawyer who works at the Center for Liberal Modernity in Berlin, realized even before Nariman Celâl’s speech that political prisoners need to be connected to the free world. This is the second time that Viktoria has been actively involved in organizing the “Letters to a Free Crimea” campaign in Berlin.

"Crimean political prisoners who have been in Russian prisons for a long time need maximum support and attention so that they understand that they are important, that they are not forgotten, that they are awaited. It is also a certain message to the Russian occupation authorities that we do not forget about these prisoners, and we are watching what they are doing there, and we will not allow them to simply kill our citizens," she explains.

Victoria is originally from Bila Tserkva, but she says she has always felt a special connection to Crimea, especially after the occupation of the peninsula.

"For me, Crimea is about people. There are many Crimeans among my friends, my colleagues, my acquaintances, and Crimean political prisoners are their relatives, friends or acquaintances... and they are citizens of my country, because Crimea is Ukraine! I cannot stand aside and will do everything possible to ensure that their cases receive maximum publicity and that they are released from prison as soon as possible," - says Victoria.

The action "Letters to a Free Crimea" is held within the framework of the international initiative of the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, PEN Ukraine, ZMINA Human Rights Center and the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine in the co-working space UA Nest in Berlin, which was founded by Ukrainian activists there for the Ukrainian community.

The first time this action was held was on May 17, 2024, on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the deportation of Crimean Tatars. Most of the people who joined then wrote to Nariman and Leniye. None of them could even imagine that in a few months the two prisoners would be released. This is what inspired Victoria to continue, so those who wanted to join the action gathered again on the eve of another date - the Day of Crimean Resistance.

Writing letters to strangers, especially when they are prisoners of the Kremlin, is not an easy task. The organizers of the action provide attendees with instructions and sheets with detailed information about political prisoners and the addresses of the prisons where they are currently being held.

Olesia Vynohradska, UA Nest coordinator, chose to write to Iryna Danylovych, a Ukrainian human rights activist and citizen journalist who was abducted by security services in occupied Crimea in April 2022 and sentenced to seven years in prison.

"I decided to write to Iryna out of women's solidarity and also because I remember her from the last time. Back then, I wrote to Leniye and a few months later the girl was released, so I hope that if Iryna's case gets maximum publicity, she will be released just as soon," - Olesya says.

Kateryna Cherniy, a historian and associate doctoral student at the Leibniz Center for Contemporary History in Potsdam, is also participating in the action for the second time. This time, she decided to write to the same Iryna Danilovych, and also to Ruslan Zeitullayev, a defendant in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the occupiers.

"Their cases did not receive such publicity as, for example, the cases of Nariman Celâl and Leniye Umerova. Moreover, both Ruslan and Iryna have health problems, so these prisoners need special attention from civil society, we cannot allow them to have the impression that they have been forgotten," says Kateryna.

Kateryna Paliy, a product manager from Potsdam, joined the action for the first time, but she stays in the UA Nest co-working space until it closes: her goal is to write to every political prisoner:  

"Each of them is important, I have no favorites here. These people give their lives for us, for truth, justice, and our freedom. They all inspire me, and I am concerned about the fate of each of them," explains Kateryna.

"In my letters, I quote Viktor Frankl's book “Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything", where the author tells about how he survived in a concentration camp and, by analyzing his behavior and the behavior of other prisoners, found strategies that keep a person above the abyss, protect the mind from madness, and give meaning to life. This book has helped millions of people to find themselves and change their lives, so I tried to convey the author's idea in my letters and I hope that it will be of psychologically help to the Crimean prisoners of the Kremlin. And as Viktor Frankl wrote, “Preserve your personal ability not to give in, not to break under the blows that fall on your body and soul,” Kateryna Paliy shares her idea.

And our CEMAAT correspondent decided to write to Appaz Kurtamet. The pain and despair of his mother, which can be felt in every post on her Facebook page, simply cannot leave one indifferent. She urges everyone to write to Appaz, saying that her son is looking forward to receiving letters and is very happy to get to know new people - this correspondence distracts him from the hopelessness and makes up for the lack of communication within the prison walls.

The CEMAAT editorial board calls on all our readers to join the "Letters to a Free Crimea" campaign and write letters to political prisoners at Free.CrimeaUA@gmail.com or by postal address (sending at the sender's expense): Human Rights Information Center, PO Box B-539, Kyiv, 01001

When writing a letter, be sure to indicate to which political prisoner you are addressing it. You can find a list of political prisoners and track their current place of detention at Map of political prisoners' places of detention at President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea .

If you plan to send letters from abroad, you can send them directly to the Russian Federation. You can also find the addresses for sending letters on the map.

Make sure to follow the instructions, and also mind that your letters must be written in Russian, the name of the addressee and addresser should also be in Russian, but you can also write in the language of the country you are sending your letters from.

What to write in the letter?

• First, make sure to write in a legible manner in Russian. Letters in other languages will not pass. Put the date of writing.
• Make sure to include your return address in Russian and in the language of the country where you are sending your letters from.
• Introduce yourself, tell a bit about yourself: where you work or study, what you do in your free time.
• Do not write anonymously. If you don't want to use your real name, choose a pseudonym. A political prisoner who receives a lot of letters may not remember that you have already written before when reading your next letter.
• Tell why you decided to write to this person. If you have read interesting facts about this particular political prisoner or have some points of contact, you can start with these topics. Write about yourself, about what is happening around you and in the world, about movies, books, travel, nature, work. Behind bars, there is a lack of this: everything is gray and monotonous, so prisoners need vivid images and feelings.
• Ask questions. This will give the person the opportunity to express their thoughts, feelings, views, or to speak out on certain issues. Many political prisoners are very interesting and educated people, and they definitely have something to tell you.

What not to write in your letters:

All sent emails and images are checked by a censor and then forwarded to the recipient. The censor will paint over or cut out unwanted information. If they don't like something, they may not pass the letter at all, so make sure to follow these key rules:

• Keep your letter politically neutral.
• Do not ask questions about their case, as this can sometimes harm the prisoner.
• Do not write anything that could compromise you or the recipient.
• Don't use ciphers, obscure symbols, or abbreviations.
• Do not use swearing, insults, erotic or pornographic descriptions.
• Do not call for escape and other illegal actions even in jest, do not write disparagingly about Russian law enforcement agencies and authorities.

Occasionally, in some colonies, poems may not be passed and surnames crossed out.

If the detainee is transferred to another detention center or colony before receiving the letter, your letter should be sent to the next one within three days after receiving it.

In political cases, letters may be deliberately not handed over to prisoners. In this case, you can write complaints to the head of the colony.

The families of the political prisoners asked CEMAAT Media to thank everyone who has joined or plans to join the "Letters to a Free Crimea" campaign.