Deputy Chairman of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars Ilmi Umerov and Akhtem Chiygoz have said they did not know they were being taken to Ankara, Turkey. Chiygoz said conditions of their imprisonment were awful.

"We did not know they were taking us to Ankara. We did not understand what was going on. They took me from the pretrial confinement center, and Ilmi from the hospital. Considering the massive, harsh character of [Russia's] attitude towards our people in Crimea, for 24 hours we could only guess how our situation would get worse," he said during a briefing in Ankara on Thursday.

Chiygoz said during three years various offers were made.

"In my case, they came to the pretrial confinement facility. Their offers were so disgusting and crass that I wasn't disposed to even consider them. For me, my release was the top priority," he said.

Asked whether an offer was made to request a pardon from Russia's president and to recognize Crimea as Russian territory, Chiygoz said: "Yes, that happened. I said that I wouldn't be sitting in prison if that was an option."

"Offers to me for changing my relations with our people's leaders, to Ukraine, to Ukrainian [President Petro Poroshenko] were conditions for my release. But I said that I am proud to be a citizen of Ukraine … the choice to be true citizens of Ukraine was our choice, of our people and [release] for the price [of changing this position] would have been an insult to our people, to Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars," he said.

Umerov and Chiygoz confirmed they did not ask Putin for a pardon.

"About two weeks ago two high-ranking Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agents came from Moscow. They offered me to sign a letter addressed to Putin requesting a pardon. I categorically refused. There were no more discussions about this after that," Umerov said.

Chiygoz also said he did not request a pardon from Putin.

"I did not ask anyone for anything for three years," Chiygoz said.

Umerov said they took him the morning before from a neurological clinic in Bakhchysarai district, took him to the airport and put him on a plane, where he met Chiygoz. He added than neither he nor Chiygoz agreed on the conditions for their release.