The Southern District Military Court of Rostov-on-Don has sentenced five defendants in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case, according to the website of the Crimean Solidarity project.
All of them were found guilty of terrorism (Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code ) and preparations for the seizure of power in Crimea (Article 278 of the Criminal Code).
Tofik Abdulgaziev, Vladlen Abdulkadyrov, Izzet Abdullayev and Medzhit Abdurakhmanov received 12 years in a strict regime colony with the first five years in prison and one year of restriction of liberty after release. Bilyal Adilov was sentenced to 14 years in a penal colony with the first five years of imprisonment and restriction of freedom for one year and six months.
Initially, prosecutor Nesterov asked to give all the defendants 15 years in prison.
«An expected verdict. We have no illusions over these 8 years. These terms are absolutely illegal and are based on the testimony of hidden witnesses who are agents of the FSB. Of course, we hope that they will not sit so long and will come out in the near future. None of them broke down in these difficult, unbearable conditions of the pre-trial detention center. They pass this test with dignity, because they understand that this is not their own business, but that of our entire people. They understand that if they accept the label of terrorists, they will open a huge door for the security forces. All adequate countries and organizations recognized them as political prisoners. Under the auspices of the fight against terrorism, Russia suppresses the activities of human rights activists, volunteers and religious figures,” lawyer Emil Kurbedinov commented on the verdict.
Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international Islamic political organization, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recognized it as a terrorist organization and banned it in 2003. The organization legally operated on the territory of Ukraine, however, after 2014, Russian security forces began to persecute alleged supporters of the party.
In total, according to Crimean Solidarity, on charges of terrorism and preparing to seize power on the peninsula, arrested, is under More than 80 people have already been convicted and convicted. The Human Rights Center «Memorial» considers the declaration of «Hizb ut-Tahrir» as a terrorist organization in 2003 unreasonable and illegal
In April, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced children's coach and Crimean Tatar activist Emil Ziyadinov to 17 years of imprisonment. On March 10, the same court sent five people to a colony for terms ranging from 15 to 19 years. On March 22, two more were sentenced to 17 and 13 years in prison.
Kitchen terrorism. Who and for what are being tried in Crimea in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case