Chairman of the Islamic Cultural Center and former imam arrested in Tyumen

Islam.Ru reports that the chairman of the Dar ul-Arkam Islamic Cultural Center, Marat Saibatalov, and the former imam of the village, Singul Yusuf (Dmitry) Petrichenko, have been arrested in Tyumen. What exactly they are accused of is not yet clear, but according to the relatives of those arrested, we are talking about crimes under Articles 205 (“Terrorism”) and 282 (“Inciting hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity”) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Islam.Ru also draws attention to the fact that a few months ago, the head of the regional department of the FSB of Russia in the Tyumen region, Alexander Vyatkin, spoke at a press conference about the discovery of a Hizb-ut-Tahrir cell in the region and the initiation of a criminal case in connection with this. However, so far, there have allegedly been no arrests in the south of the region.

On June 22, Sedmitsa.ru reported (with reference to Blagovest-info) that "Marat Saydulatov", "a member of the transnational Islamic organization Hizb-ut-Tahrir banned last year by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation," was detained in Tyumen. also about the chairman of the Islamic cultural center "Dar ul-Arkam".

In addition, it is reported that ten members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir were detained earlier in Tobolsk. The arrests began after a search of Eduard Khusainov's literature in Nizhnevartovsk in November 2003 was discovered. E. Khusainov appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office and the Supreme Court, trying to appeal against the decision to ban Hizb-ut-Tahrir. He demanded a copy of this court decision, but never received it. A criminal case was opened against him for "participation in the activities of an organization in respect of which a court has passed a final decision to ban in connection with the implementation of extremist activities."

In August, the court decided to extend the term of imprisonment for all detainees.

On September 13 , Islam.Ru reported that the Tyumen newspaper Delovoy Monitor had published a list of all five Muslims arrested in June. They are Marat Saibatalov, Dmitry Petrichenko, Azat Shikhov, Rail Valitov and Alisher Juraev. According to the newspaper, a criminal case against them has indeed been initiated under subparagraphs of Articles 205 and 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. "The extension of the investigation may indicate that the investigation is facing difficulties," concludes "Business Monitor".

On October 22, the regional prosecutor Ernest Valeev, during a press conference, stated that the prosecutor's office had evidence that the detainees were preparing to take hostages. The case is due to go to court in November.

Sources

• Repressions against Islamic figures began in Tyumen // Islam.Ru. 2004. June 18.
• Members of banned Islamic organization Hizb-ut-Tahrir arrested in Tyumen region // Week.ru. 2004. June 22.
• Among those arrested in the Tyumen region - a descendant of the Prophet (peace be upon him)? // Islam.ru. 2004. August 23.
• Tyumen: names of Muslims accused of extremism published // There. September 13th.
• Hizb-ut-Tahrir extremists who were preparing hostage-taking were detained in the Tyumen region // Week.ru. 2004. October 22. (With reference to RIA Novosti.)