The prosecutor demanded that the alleged Hizb ut-Tahrir member in Crimea, who has been on a hunger strike for two weeks, be sentenced to 17 years.

Prosecutor Gennady Trukhanov, during the debate in the North Caucasus Military District Court in the case of Ruslan Zeitullayev, accused of organizing a Hizb ut-Tahrir cell banned in Russia in Crimea, demanded 17 years in prison for him, Radio Liberty correspondent Anton told Mediazona. Naumlyuk.

Zeytullaev himself did not admit his guilt. The defense asked the court to release him due to the lack of evidence of a crime.

In court, Zeytullayev announced his intention to continue the hunger strike, which he began on April 4. He demands to stop the persecution of the Crimean Tatars and close the “February 26 case” about mass riots at the Supreme Council of Crimea in 2014.

At the same time, he was unable to fully take part in the debate between the parties due to weakness. Doctors from the Rostov pre-trial detention center provided the court with a certificate according to which his condition was “satisfactory” and the diagnosis was “elementary starvation.”

Zeitullayev's lawyers tried to persuade him to stop his hunger strike. One of the leaders of the Crimean Tatars, Mustafa Dzhemilev, addressed him with the same request. During 18 days of hunger strike, Zeitullaev lost 8 kg of weight.

In September, the North Caucasus District Military Court sentenced Zeitullayev to seven years in prison, finding him guilty under Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code (participation in the activities of a terrorist organization). The investigation considered him the organizer and asked to be tried under Part 1 of the same article, but the court decided that this had not been proven and reclassified the case.

In addition to him, Ferat Saifullaev, Rustem Vakhitov and Nuri Primov received five years in prison. Muslims living in the villages of Orlinoye and Shtormovoye in Crimea were arrested in the winter of 2015.

Since then, the number of Muslims from different parts of the peninsula accused of involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir has grown to 14 people. “Mediazona” talked about who was arrested in Crimea in this case and why human rights activists believe that calling this organization terrorist is unlawful.

In July 2016, "Memorial" recognized Ferat Saifullayev, Rustem Vakhitov, Nuri Primov and Ruslan Zeitullayev as political prisoners.

At the end of 2016, the Supreme Court overturned Zeitullaev's sentence and sent the case for review . The court confirmed the verdict against three other defendants in the criminal case.

Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami (Islamic Liberation Party) is banned in Russia and included in the list of terrorist organizations. Hizb ut-Tahrir was not recognized as terrorist in any European country, while in Russia, in some cases, prison terms under Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code were close to 20 years.

against 69 people for involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir . were opened In 2016 , at least 21 new cases