The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced four Crimean Tatar activists. According to Crimean Solidarity, Dzhebbar Bekirov was sentenced to 17 years in a strict regime colony, Rustem Murasov, Zavur Abdullayev and Rustem Tairov were sentenced to 12 years. All convicted will spend the first four years of their sentence in prison.
Bekirov, Murasov, Abdullayev and Tairov were detained in August 2021 after another series of searches in the homes of Crimean Tatars. They were charged under Articles 205.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Organization of the activities of a terrorist organization and participation in the activities of a terrorist organization) and 278 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Preparation for a violent seizure of power). At the same time, Imam Raif Fevziev was arrested and tried separately. In January, he was sentenced to 17 years in a strict regime colony.
After the annexation of Crimea, the Russian authorities began to persecute Crimean Tatar activists, accusing them of links with the Islamic party Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia. In Ukraine, the activity of the party is allowed.
According to the project “Help to Political Prisoners. Memorial” on May 24, at least 260 people were convicted in the case of “Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami”, 110 of them were sentenced to terms of more than 15 years. At least 45 more defendants are under investigation or awaiting a court verdict, 27 people have been put on the wanted list.