The Central District Military Court sentenced Rustam Fararitdinov, the brother of the Bashkir activist and political emigrant Ruslan Gabbasov, to five and a half years in prison, Idel.Realii reports.
The first two and a half years of his sentence will be spent in prison, and the rest of his term will be spent in a maximum security penal colony. Fararitdinov was found guilty of aiding terrorist activity (Part 1 of Article 205.1 of the Criminal Code).
As Gabbasov himself reported in a conversation with Idel.Realii, his brother was accused of their correspondence on WhatsApp discussing the news about the creation of Bashkir units within the Ukrainian Armed Forces. As the activist emphasized, neither he nor the Bashkir National Political Center, which he created in exile, have anything to do with these military formations.
The criminal prosecution of Fararitdinov became known in November 2023, when the man's home was searched. As Gabbasov said, the security forces then told Fararitdinov that he «would sit for his brother.» The day after the search, the resident of Bashkortostan was sent to a pre-trial detention center.
Fararetdinov is the father of three young children. His brother, Ruslan Gabbasov, advocated for the independence of Bashkortostan and was the chairman of the Bashkortostan organization, which was recognized as extremist in 2020. In 2021, Gabbasov left the country, fearing political persecution; he later received political asylum in Lithuania. In October 2022, the activist was recognized as a «foreign agent.»