Hunger-Striking Mother Of Crimean Tatar Jailed In Russia Hospitalized

The mother of a jailed Crimean Tatar man has been rushed to hospital after two weeks on a hunger strike to demand the release of her son, who was convicted of terrorism charges he contends are false.

Crimea-based human rights group Crimean Solidarity said on July 3 that Raime Primova was hospitalized with extremely low blood pressure.

Primova, 68, has a single kidney and has been diagnosed with liver disease.

She told RFE/RL earlier that she started the hunger strike on June 20 after sending a request to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) seeking the release of her son, Nuri Primov.

Primova said that she was only drinking water and a doctor was monitoring her health.

Primov was arrested in Russian-controlled Crimea in 2016 and was convicted of being a member of the Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in Russia.

Primov, who denied the charge, is serving a five-year sentence in a prison in the Russian republic of Mari El.

Moscow's takeover of Crimea in March 2014 was vocally opposed by many members of the Crimea Tatar population, who make up a sizable minority on the peninsula.

Rights groups and Western governments have denounced what they call a campaign of repression targeting members of the Turkic-speaking Crimean Tatars and others who opposed Moscow's seizure of the peninsula.