A court in Crimea extended the period of detention for those involved in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case.

The Kiev District Court of Simferopol extended the detention of Crimean Tatar activists Lenur Seidametov and Timur Yalkabov until September 15. Crimean Solidarity reports this.

Activists are being persecuted on suspicion of involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir. Seidametov is charged with participation in a terrorist organization (Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code), Yalkabov is charged with organizing the activities of a terrorist organization (Part 1 of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code).

Relatives of the prisoners said that the measure of restraint was extended with reference to the possibility of Seidametov and Yalkabov influencing secret witnesses. At the same time, the persons involved in the case do not know the identity of these witnesses before the conclusion and at the moment.

The defense demanded a softening of the preventive measure. “The court listened to us, but did not hear us,” said lawyer Refat Yunus.

• In May, the Supreme Court of Crimea recognized the legal extension of the arrest of political prisoners of the Crimean Tatars.
• Lenur Seidametov and Timur Yalkabov were arrested on February 17, 2021. This happened after mass searches took place in Crimea in the morning of the same day. At least seven people, including Seidametov and Yalkabov, became defendants in criminal cases of organizing the activities of a terrorist organization and participating in it (Part 1 and Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code). In March, Seidametov was sent for a compulsory forensic psychiatric examination. The activist spent 21 days in the hospital.
• Hizb ut-Tahrir was recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia. Its participants are accused and sentenced to real terms only on the basis that they met in apartments, read religious literature and recruited new participants. According to the SOVA information and analytical center, the party was unlawfully recognized as terrorist in Russia.