A court in Crimea extended the term of detention in a pre-trial detention center for four defendants in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case.

The Kiev District Court of Simferopol extended until April 10, 2023 the term of detention in a pre-trial detention center in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case for Crimean Tatar activists Enver Krosh, Renat Aliyev, Edem Bekirov and Vilen Temeryanov. Crimean Solidarity reports this.

The state prosecutor said that if the defendants in the case are not in custody, they could allegedly escape or begin to threaten witnesses in the case. Lawyer Emil Kurbedinov objected: “Keeping them in a pre-trial detention center is nothing more than a way of putting pressure on them for their position, for the fact that they did not agree to follow the lead of the FSB: to incriminate themselves and other people. This is punishment for their position, not fear that they will run away or destroy evidence.” However, the court agreed with the prosecutor.

The criminal case against Krosh, Aliyev, Bekirov, Temeryanov, as well as Murat Mustafayev and Seityagi Abbozov became known on August 11. Security forces conducted searches in the homes of activists in connection with a criminal case brought against them for organizing or participating in the activities of a terrorist organization (Part 1 and Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code). Abbozov was placed under house arrest, and the rest of the defendants in the case were taken into custody.

According to investigators, Enver Krosh “no later than 2015 led the Hizb ut-Tahrir cell,” and the rest of the detainees were its participants and “carried out anti-Russian activities.” According to the publication "Grati", torture was used against Krosh - this happened during an escort from the north of Crimea to Simferopol.

*January 18 * The Supreme Court of Crimea upheld the decision of the court of first instance to extend the preventive measure for Edem Bekirov, Enver Krosh, Vilen Temeryanov and Rinat Aliyev. Crimean Tatar activists will remain in pre-trial detention until April 10, 2023. Crimean Solidarity reports this.

• The Islamist party 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 Information and Analytical Center “Sova” and the project “Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial” , the party is illegally recognized as terrorist in Russia.
• According to the project “Assistance to political prisoners. Memorial" as of December 15, 2022, at least 328 people are being persecuted in connection with their involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami, of which 27 are wanted. At least 242 people were convicted, of which 105 defendants were sentenced to terms of more than fifteen years in prison. In total, Memorial recognized 272 persons involved in cases of involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami as political prisoners (227 of them are currently being prosecuted, and 45 of them were released after serving their sentences).