Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed Nariman Dzhelal as Ukraine’s new ambassador to Türkiye, according to RBC-Ukraine. The appointment was formalized in a presidential decree signed earlier this month, the president’s press service reported.
Dzhelal, a Crimean Tatar politician, journalist, and human rights advocate was born on April 27, 1980, in Navoi, Uzbekistan. His family returned to Crimea in 1989.
According to Ukrainian media, Dzhelal graduated from the Political Science Department at Odesa National University. He began his career as a journalist at Avdet, a Crimean Tatar newspaper, and later worked for the ATR television channel. He also taught history and law at an international school in Simferopol.
Dzhelal entered politics in 2013 when he was elected first deputy chairman of the Mejlis, the representative body of the Crimean Tatar people. Following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, Dzhelal remained in the region, where he continued to advocate for the rights of Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians. He monitored human rights abuses and participated in trials widely regarded as politically motivated.
In 2021, after attending the inaugural Crimea Platform summit, Dzhelal was detained by the Russian security services and accused of sabotage. In 2022, he was sentenced to 17 years in prison. Ukrainian authorities confirmed that he was released in a prisoner exchange in June 2024 and returned to Ukraine.
Dzhelal’s appointment to the post in Ankara underscores Türkiye’s pivotal role in Ukraine’s diplomatic strategy.
