Members of a banned organization were sentenced in Tatarstan

In Tatarstan, a court issued a verdict in a criminal case against the regional division of Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami. Long prison sentences were imposed on the alleged leader Azat Khasanov, Ildar Shaikhutdinov, previously recognized by the court as the leader of the Kazan cell, as well as Ilmir Imaev. According to investigators, they actively promoted the ideas of the organization and organized car rallies with its flags in Kazan. During the trial, two of their associates disappeared and were put on the wanted list.

Today, the Vakhitovsky District Court of Kazan considered a criminal case against 62-year-old Ilmir Imaev, 38-year-old Ildar Shaikhutdinov and 36-year-old Azat Khasanov. There should have been more defendants, but two of them - Rustam Akhmedov and Lenar Galimov - disappeared during the trial. They were under house arrest and simply did not show up for one of the meetings. Their cases were separated into separate proceedings, and they themselves are now put on the federal wanted list. According to the Tatarstan prosecutor's office, the defendants were found guilty under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (incitement of hatred or enmity by an organized group). In addition, Ildar Shaikhutdinov and Ilmir Imaev are recognized as members of Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami (the Islamic Liberation Party, recognized as extremist by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in 2003), and Azat Khasanov is its leader. According to investigators, from August 2012 to October 2013, the defendants “studied and disseminated ideas” of extremism, and also sowed “extremist sentiments among the population.”

Some Islamic media call Ilmir Imaev an independent Islamic journalist and human rights activist. According to operational data, until 1998 he lived in Uzbekistan, then he and his family moved to Kazan, where he received Russian citizenship, until 2010 he led an immoral lifestyle, abused alcohol, and was prosecuted for this. In 2012, according to the same data, he joined Hizb ut-Tahrir, where he served as a correspondent. Another defendant, Ildar Shaikhutdinov, has been convicted three times for promoting the organization’s ideas and creating underground cells.

According to investigators, in October and December 2012, the defendants held car rallies through the streets of Kazan, when “black and white flags with the symbols of an extremist organization were used for the purpose of visual propaganda.” One of these car rallies with the participation of about 20 cars took place after the release of Ildar Shaikhutdinov from prison, on December 22, on the Zelenodolsk-Kazan highway, when about 20 cars rode with black and white flags with inscriptions in Arabic.

Also, according to the case materials, in September 2013

In Kazan mosques and other public places, a rally was organized in support of Hizb ut-Tahrir, leaflets of the organization were distributed, and banners were hung.

The court sentenced Azat Khasanov, as the leader, to the most severe punishment - 6.5 years in a maximum security colony, Ildar Shaikhutdinov - 5.5 years in a general regime colony, and Ilmira Imaev - 3.5 years in a penal colony.

It was previously reported that the defendants do not admit their guilt. Ilmir Imaev, in particular, stated that “he was appointed an extremist for his active position in covering and trying to make public the facts of violations of the rights of Muslims.”

Andrey Smirnov, Kazan

Extremists were charged with car rallies