Two defendants in the second Bakhchisaray Hizb ut-Tahrir case have had their charges increased

The investigation toughened the charges against Timur Ibragimov and Memet Belyalov. about it Writes "Crimea. Realii” with reference to the lawyer Edem Semedlyaev.

Previously, the defendants in the case were accused of participating in the activities of the terrorist organization (part 2 of article 205.5 of the Criminal Code) Hizb ut-Tahrir. Now they are accused of organizing the activities of this organization (part 1 of article 205.5 of the Criminal Code). Under this part of the article, they may face a term of imprisonment up to life. The decision to change the charge was handed to the defenders in the FSB Directorate.

Lawyer Smedlyaev believes that the investigation toughened the charge for reinsurance, so that the court could not return him back to the investigation stage.

“There is an assumption that such actions of the investigation are connected with a similar case against the Yalta group Hizb ut-Tahrir. There, the court saw in the actions of one of the accused not participation in a terrorist organization, but the organization of a terrorist cell, after which it decided to return the case back for additional investigation. As a result, there are two organizers in that case. I think that in this case, the investigation is simply insured so that the case does not return from the court back to the investigation stage. The investigator told us so: if the court sees in the actions of the three participants not “organization”, but “participation”, then he himself will reclassify the charge, ”Semedlyaev explained.

On March 6, Marlen Asanov, Seyran Saliyev and Memet Belyalov were kept in pre-trial detention until April 9, Ernes Ametov - until April 8. about it Writes "Crimea. Realities".

On April 5, Server Mustafayev's arrest was extended until June 9. It is reported by "Crimea. Realities".

• Ernes Ametov, Server Zekiryaev, Seyran Saliev, Server Mustafaev and Edem Smailov are accused of participating in the Hizb ut-Tahrir terrorist organization (Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code). Marlena Asanova, Memet Belyalov and Timur Ibragimov - in her organization (Part 1 of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code). The men have been in custody since October 2017.
• In February 2019, all defendants in the criminal case were accused of preparing for a violent seizure of power (Article 278 of the Criminal Code).
• According to the Memorial Human Rights Center, Memet Belyalov , like Ernes Ametov and Timur Ibragimov , are Crimean Solidarity activists. This initiative provides legal, informational and material assistance to Crimean Tatars and Muslims who have been persecuted by the authorities and their families.
• Hizb ut-Tahrir has been declared terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court. However, a number of experts from human rights organizations, including the SOVA Center, believe that there are no grounds for this - members of Hizb ut-Tahrir were not seen to be involved in the commission or preparation of terrorist attacks.